Domino Effect
by tiger002
Summary: Things seemed to be returning for normal for the twins, however, one simple choice can have dire consequences. They would meet new friends and foes in their greatest adventure. One thing keeps leading to another in the sequel to Separated but not Apart
1. Chapter 1: Hero

A/N: This is a trailer/song fic building up to my newest story. The song is Hero by Skillet.

* * *

**Things seemed to be returning for normal for the twins, however, one simple choice can have dire consequences. They would meet new friends and foes in their greatest adventure yet. One thing keeps leading to another in the sequel to Separated but not Apart. **

**Staring Dylan and Cole Sprouse as Zack and Cody Martin…**

"Here they come, Zack," his twin brother said, standing beside him. The horrifying monsters closed in, their claws ready to feel the flesh of the twins.

"They don't stand a chance." The older twin let the power of the dimensionals course through his veins. Effortlessly, everything around him seemed to slow.

**Debby Ryan as Bailey Picket…**

The farm girl ran, as everything around her seemed to be collapsing. She had never been so frightened in her life, but somehow she found the courage to get keep running. Even though she wanted to do something to help the victims, she knew her only choice was to keep running,

**Vin Diesel as David Alaimo…**

The flames danced around the elemental's body before he sent them at his target. He continued launching one fireball after another, but even so, his opponents wouldn't give in. It had been a while since he had to unleash this much of his power.

**David Henrey as Trey O'Neal,**

Trey grabbed his foes arm forward before slicing his knife across his chest. He jumped at the foe beside him, kicking him in the face before turning and tossing a dagger into the foe behind him.

**Jason Earls as Aaron Navarro**

He brought forth a wall of earth to block the claw of the monsters, before lifting the beast into the air. The ground below him shot up, slicing through the beast, sending it's corpse falling back to the earth. He ran to help his younger sister fight off the coming assault.

**Emily Osmin as Heather Navarro**

Even in the dry desert air, the water elemental gathered the moisture out of the air, and constructed a mighty whip of water which she slashed the approaching fiends with. One raised its axe, ready to strike, but her brother stopped the attack with a spear of earth.

**Shin Koyamanda as Ryo Zhou**

The lightning elemental had sparks flying from his hands. He held his palms forward, forming a giant sphere of lightning between them. "Now young dimensional, try dodging this!" he said releasing the attack. His foe tried leaping out of the way, but to no avail, just as Ryo planned.

**Chuck Norris as Hakalahs**

"Women, you think you of all people possess the power to take me down," he said slashing his sword coursing with lighting at her.

**And Angelina Jolie as Altinia**

"I see no reason why I won't beat you just like last time," the ice elemental said as she blocked the attack with her bow. She quickly notched several arrows and fired them at her foe.

"_I'm just a step away  
I'm just a breath away"_

Zack Martin stood looking into the vast ocean before him. Below him, he heard the blood curling screams of the monsters and the cries of pains of the victims as their lives were abruptly cut short.

"_Losing my faith today  
Falling off the edge today"_

"You okay Heather?"

"I guess so Aaron. They're really coming, aren't they?"

"Yea…"

"Think we can win?"

_"I am just a man  
Not superhuman  
I'm not superhuman  
Someone save me from the hate"_

Cody didn't know what he could do. The beasts surrounded him. He knew the powers that he possessed, but he wasn't ready to find enemies like this. Their grotesque figures made his skin crawl, but he knew there was only one way they could get out alive.

"_It's just another war  
Just another family torn  
Falling from my faith today  
Just a step from the edge  
Just another day in the world we live"  
_

"Captain, those birds seem awfully big."

"Take a closer look," he said handing his companion the binoculars.

"Sweet mama molasses, are those dragons?!"

"_I need a hero to save me now  
I need a hero, save me now  
I need a hero to save my life  
A hero will save me just in time"_

Altinia knew she had to hurry or they wouldn't stand a chance. She gripped the throttle of her jet ski as hard as she could. She fired several shards of ice as the dragons flew overhead, hoping the slow them down, but that wouldn't be enough.

"_I've gotta fight today  
To live another day  
Speaking my mind today  
My voice will be heard today"_

Aaron harnessed the power of the rock around him, encasing him in armor of stone. Heather gathered the water out of the air and prepared to strike the oncoming army.

"_I've gotta make a stand  
But I am just a man  
I'm not superhuman  
My voice will be heard today"_

Zack knew there wasn't much choice. He couldn't just stand back and watch those victims fall to the beasts, especially not when he had the power to stop them. He brought forth his sword and jumped into the fray.

"_It's just another war  
Just another family torn  
My voice will be heard today  
It's just another kill  
The countdown begins to destroy ourselves"_

"I won't let them hurt you anymore," Cody said as the monsters closed in. He picked up the closest weapon he could find, an old broom, and readied his body to fight.

"_I need a hero to save me now  
I need a hero, save me now  
I need a hero to save my life  
A hero will save me just in time"_

The great city had no idea the danger that awaited them. Hakalahs looked down from a skyscraper, knowing his time to strike would soon come. He unfolded his black wings and leapt into the sky. He unsheathed his twin blades, and thought about how they would soon taste the blood of humans once more.

"_I need a hero to save my life  
I need a hero, just in time  
Save me just in time  
Save me just in time"_

"You can't be serious."

"Believe us general, we are. We barely escaped with our lives, and your entire country is in danger. I have the scars to prove what I experienced," the twin explained.

"_Who's gonna fight for what's right?  
Who's gonna help us survive?  
We're in the fight of our lives  
And we're not ready to die"_

The elemental siblings stood their ground as the massive army of monsters approached them. Under the impact of water and stone, many of the beats faded out of existence, but there were still hundreds of them.

"As fellow elementals, why don't you join our cause?"

"We will never support murderers like you."

"Then you shall taste my fire, just like the humans."

"_Who's gonna fight for the weak?  
Who's gonna make 'em believe?  
I've got a hero, I've got a hero  
Living in me"_

Altinia created an ice bridge through the air, and jumped from it onto the SS Tipton. She set several arrows in her bow and quickly fired them, encasing the enemies in ice.

"_I'm gonna fight for what's right  
Today I'm speaking my mind  
And if it kills me tonight  
I will be ready to die"  
_

Zack impaled one of the monsters just before it could slice its claw across a young child's body. He wouldn't allow these innocents to die, especially when he had the power to save them. Even though he was unaware how long he could hold out, he'd fight with everything he had.

"_A hero's not afraid to give his life  
A hero's gonna save me just in time"_

Bailey watched as her rescuer narrowly dodged the fiends' attacks, while at the same time countering with amazing speed. His body moved so fast, her eyes couldn't follow his attacks. She was honored to see someone fight so hard for her safety.

"_I need a hero to save me now"_

The citizens ran from the approaching monsters, but they were no match for the claw and steel.

"_I need a hero, save me now"_

Between the monsters and the fire elemental, they were quickly overwhelmed.

"Heth, we have to keep fighting."

"But how?"

"_I need a hero to save my life"_

"But I trusted you."

"Your trust was quite misplaced. You don't know me at all. Now, join us or die!"

_"A hero will save me just in time"_

He looked out, knowing the fight he was about to get involved in. Everything he had been taught, and everything he taught his students told him to stay out of useless conflicts like this, but he knew this was an exception. A gentle wind blew through his grey hair, signaling the calm before the storm.

"_(I need a hero)  
Who's gonna fight for what's right?  
Who's gonna help us survive?"_

The dragons cried out in pain as the missiles tore through their wings. The deft movement of the airplanes allowed them to dodge the fire that nearly consumed them. If they could keep the sky safe, perhaps the citizens below could live.

"_(I need a hero)  
Who's gonna fight for the weak?  
Who's gonna make 'em believe?  
I've need a hero"_

"Do you really think that's a safe idea for any of us?"

"Honestly no, but you four are our best bet. I call for back up to help on this front, so you can complete your mission."

"_I need a hero  
A hero's gonna save me just in time "_

The four of them looked around at their strange surroundings in silence for a moment. Cody was the first to speak, "Something tells me we aren't on earth anymore…"

**Domino Effect, coming to fan fiction on January 4 2010**

**

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A/N: Honestly, I don't think I've ever been as excited about starting a new fic as this one, so hopefully it will be good. I already have the rough drafts of the first two chapters written, so this won't be abandoned after just one chapter. I'll warn you though, this will get quite dark at times; so far I'm planning on killing at least one of the heroes, and maybe more.**


	2. Chapter 2: Come Along with Me

Domino Effect chapter 1: Come along with me…

Zack Martin gazed out all around him. They had come with one purpose. Their gross figures told the 16 year old twins of their desire. Even though they were horribly outnumbered, the dimensionals showed no fear.

"Here they come Zack," his twin brother said from beside him. The horrifying monsters closed in, their claws ready to feel the flesh of the twins. Zack however, would not allow them to win.

"They don't stand a chance." The older twin let the power of the dimensionals course through his veins. Effortlessly, everything around him seemed to slow. One of the beasts jumped at him, but Zack easily dodged the attack, and elbowed it in back, sending it into the ground. The older twin then jumped in the air, kicking one of the gargoyles, sending it flying.

A skeleton warrior charged at him, its axe high ready to strike. Zack wasn't afraid though. He grabbed the handle of the weapon, and yanked it from the zombie. The fiend's severed hand was still attached to the weapon, but that didn't face the teen in the least. He quickly slashed the monster in half with the blade.

He plunged the axe into the ground and saw the creatures continue to fight his brother despite their dwindling numbers. "Is that the best you got?" he taunted, provoking several of them to charge at him, just as he hoped.

Zack pulled the axe out of the ground and sliced across the bodies of a couple of them, causing them to disintegrate into nothing. He leapt into the air, bashing another gargoyle with the axe before diving back down, crushing the unfortunate fiend below him.

"Zack" The older twin looked around for his brother after hearing his soft voice. A number of monsters surrounded Cody, but the younger dimensional was still holding them off. Zack knew that his brother was stronger than him but it seemed like the fiends were getting the advantage. He wouldn't let his best friend down.

"I'm coming for you buddy!" Zack charged through the monsters, driving the axe through any of them that dared to get in the way. The monsters were no match for Zack's peerless skill with his weapon. He tossed the axe, obliterating more of the monsters, before running beside his brother where the two of them dispatched the remaining fiends.

"Zachary Martin!" He knew that wasn't his brother's voice, instead it sounded feminine. He felt like he should know who it was, but as he gazed around looking for the source, he couldn't find it.

_

"I'm awake," the older twin said, brining his head up from the desk.

"Good, now could you please tell the class what the most common isotope of carbon is?"

"Um, give me a sec," he said racking his head for the information, but he couldn't think of the answer. He turned to his side, flashing Cody his classic puppy dog eyes. The younger twin sighed and held up one finger in one hand and two in the other. "Ah, it's 21 Miss T."

"Not even close Zack," she paused turning to the other twin, "and Cody."

"Yes ma'am?"

"Stop trying to bail out your brother."

The lesson continued, while Cody listened attentively. Zack on the other hand, just struggled to stay away. It wasn't his fault that Miss T had a voice that instantly made him sleepy.

_

"This really is a fancy place, isn't it," Zack said walking up to his brother who was standing over the rails overlooking the vast ocean. Class had ended a few hours ago, leaving the students to do whatever they wanted for the rest of the day.

"Yea, I can't believe we get to travel the world while we learn."

"And I can't believe we get to meet all these hot foreign babes."

Cody rolled his eyes at his brothers care free nature. "Just remember to focus on school too; after all, you have to have good grades to avoid being expelled."

"Yes mom," Zack said sarcastically. "Don't worry; I actually did my homework already. Being able to torment Moseby again is too much fun to lose."

"Wow, actually doing your homework, you're becoming just like me."

"Don't remind me," Zack said thinking about the many ways he had changed in the past couple years. Durnig the time the twins were separated, Zack had slowly improved his grades. Even though he doubted his brother would ever find out about it, he wanted to make him proud. He wasn't a perfect student, but he knew education was important. Just sometimes, sleep seemed more important.

"Anyway, I'm going back to my room to finish the email to Victoria and Bruce," Cody said as he headed back to his room.

"Sweet, I'll go see if Bailey wants to play some Halo 3. He really seems to be into video games."

_

_Dear Victoria and Bruce,_

_Sorry it's taken me so long to write this, but I've been really busy with school and all my new friends here. It seems like we're always getting into some strange adventure. The manager at the hotel where we used to live just happened to be the ship's manager, and our old friend London Tipton is a student aboard the ship. Tell Ash I'll see if I can get her an autograph. It's nice to see some familiar faces, but the new people are great too. _

_My roommate Woody seems to be my complete opposite, but he's not too bad. He's a big comic book fan and reminds me a lot of Zack, but I think Woody's even strange . He has 11 toes, but instead of 6 and 5 like you might think, he has 8 on one foot and three on the other. I didn't think it was possible either, but he constantly defies what I would expect. I kept having to fight him for the computer to type this, but I figured you'd like to know what trouble I've been getting Zack out of._

_First some good news. They let us keep the helicopter in the ship's storage. Moseby and Zack teamed up to give some of the passenger a tour of Paris through the sky at night. The passengers said it was like nothing they had experienced before. Mr. Tipton, the owner of the ship, was impressed with the idea, and it's rumored Moseby got a big bonus for that. Zack was just happy to get his commission for it. My brother has finally learned how to land it with out crashing too. I never told you the full story about why we brought it, did I?_

_It was about 8AM the morning we were supposed to leave. Unfortunately, Zack got the date wrong, and when he was getting dressed, he saw the correct date on the flyer. With both of you at work, we had no choice, but to take the helicopter to get there. I was reluctant at first, but eventually I conceded to his plan._

"_Hey Cody, you know how we can get to the coast in less than two hours?"_

"_Why…"_

"_I kind of got the date wrong. The SS Tipton is leaving today, not tomorrow."_

"_I guess we should call our parents and see if they can get us there," I replied calmly._

"_I have a better idea," Zack said holding up what looked to be a set of car keys. I knew what he was thinking, and that it was a bad idea, but sadly, we didn't have much choice. Luckily the gps got us there right before the ship left. I can't believe how many times Hele has saved us. Needless to say though, the people on the ship were a bit surprised._

_Miss Tutwiler had just finished signing in all the students and went to give the results to Moseby. "It seems we have two students not here yet. You think we should wait for them?"_

"_If they haven't learned the simple art of being arriving on time, then I don't want those hooligans attending my school. We are leaving without them."_

"_I understand."_

_What they didn't know is that our helicopter was right overhead and beginning to land as the ship set out for the sea._

"_You hear that?" Miss Tutwiler asked._

"_Yea, it sounds like a helicopter overhead," he said looking above him, "Because it is!" The two dove ran out of the way of our landing. Various towels flew across the deck as we landed, and Moseby uttered a few words I'm not going to repeat._

"_Sorry we're late," Zack said as we climbed out of the vehicle._

"_Zack," Moseby growled, apparently shocked._

"_Mr. Moseby, what are you doing here?"_

"_I'm the new manager of this ship. Might I ask what you two hooligans are doing here?"_

"_We are new students on the ship," I said, hoping to stop an argument between the two._

"_Zack and Cody Martin?" Miss Tutwiler asked._

"_That's us," Zack said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder._

"_Miss Tutwiler, see to it that they are taken care of and stay out of trouble. I'm going to get some aspirin for the headaches I know are coming," Moseby said as he left._

_He walked off, and I knew that we would have an interesting semester ahead of us. I don't have much time now, but I'll tell you more about our crazy adventures soon._

_Love,_

_Cody'_

"So you up for the all you can eat Mexican buffet tonight?" Woody asked as he walked into the room, right after Cody sent the email.

"This won't end well," Cody said softly as he followed his roommate to their impending doom.

_

_"Come Along With Me  
Lets Head Out To Sea  
What This World Has For You And For Me Now  
Whichever Way The Wind Blows  
We Say Hay Ho Lets Go  
This Boat's Rockin'  
Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now  
Cause We're Livin' The Suite Life..."_

_

**A/N: So, what do you think of me brining this back together with the show? The first two seasons of TSLOZAC occurred normally with their parents' murder taking place at the end of season two. They were separated in October off their 8****th**** grade year, right before their 14****th**** birthday. They are starting school on the ship in January instead of September. I'm going to include a couple of the on deck shows to this, but with some modifications to them. Any of them you want me to do?**


	3. Chapter 3: Some Things Never Change

_"Here we are - we've just begun  
And after all this time - our time has come  
Ya here we are - still goin' strong  
Right here in the place where we belong"_

_Here I am, Bryan Adams_

**Chapter 3: Some Things Never Change**

"Woody, you can't seriously plan to eat 7 of those bean burritos?" Cody asked after seeing how high his roommates plate was piled. He knew not even his nose plugs could keep him safe. Perhaps investing in smell removal surgery would be worthwhile.

"Yea, that's weak. Go with at least 10," Bailey said sitting down at the table with them. This caused both twins' eyes to widen

"Hey, Woody," Zack nervously said, "You mind if I trade rooms with you tonight. I think it might be best for all of us."

"Yea, that will work for me," he said, "Then me and Bailey can practice our Star Spangled Banner duet, unless you'd rather us perform 'Stairway to Heaven'."

"Zack, I'm not even sure if we can get far enough away on the ship to be safe," Cody said worriedly. He knew the vicious power Woody normally possessed, so combine that with an all you can eat Mexican buffet, and a friend who was possibly even worse, and the smell might reach all the way back to Boston.

"You still have those 27 cans of air freshener you brought, right?" Zack asked, suddenly appreciating Cody's ability to be ready for any situation

"Well I've had to use 3 of them after the moldy banana experiment."

"Hi poor people!" London said walking over to the table, not caring she might be interrupting a conversation, considering it probably wasn't about her. "Y'know, you two look really familiar."

"Um, London," Cody said, "We lived at the Tipton for two years, remember?"

"A lot of people stayed at the hotel," the heiress said.

"Remember, you helped us fill in for the hotel kitchen staff, and we spent the night in suite 513," Zack said trying to refresh their old friend's memory.

"Oh, now I remember you!" she said.

"Took you long enough," Zack mumbled.

"Dylan and Cole, right?"

Cody rested his head in his palms. "Not even close." he said shaking his head, "He's Zack and I'm Cody."

"Oh, well that doesn't really matter," she said changing the subject, "But what does matter is my fabulous jewelry I finally got the chance to wear today."

"Wow, they're really nice London," Zack said half-heartedly. He had to admire the way the diamonds sparkled and the red gem around he neck glowed even brighter in the light of the restaurant. It was nice but jewelry just wasn't anything to interest guys, at least in Zack's opinion.

"Where did you get that necklace?" Bailey asked, with interest that shocked his other friends.

"Um, Daddy doesn't like to talk about where he gets my presents," London said cryptically.

"You mind if I hold it for a second?" he asked. At this point, Zack's view of his friend's masculinity dropped dramatically.

"Ew, no, you might get poor people germs on it," she said as she jumped back in shock. "Well I have to go shopping now. Bye Zack, bye Cody, and bye, you…um, other people"

"Well, it sounds like she's finally learning your names," Bailey said, leaning back in his chair.

"Doubt it, that's the fifth time we've explained it to her this month," Cody said shrugging his shoulders.

"Careful dude, you don't want to fall out of the chair," Zack said to Bailey as an evil idea came to his mind.

"Yea, right, like I'm that clumsy," he responded with a roll of his eyes

Cody saw Zack's smirk and sent him a glare which was ignored. The older twin knew that If he did it fast enough, no one would notice. The dimensional harnessed his powers just long enough to kick the chair farther back, sending Bailey to the floor.

Cody sent his brother a look, but they both knew no one else could have seen that. "Well, maybe I'm not as coordinated as I thought," Bailey said putting his hat back over his black hair. When he got up, his face turned red from embarrassment, but he just laughed along with the others.

_

"Do you think that was really necessary?" Cody asked. After dinner the group at split up. Woody and Bailey had gone to the game room to play some air hockey. The twins decided to pick up a smoothie before watching Avatar, which was being shown in the ship's theater later that night.

"Necessary, probably not, but you have to admit it was funny."

"You haven't told Bailey what we can do, have you?" the younger twin asked, fearing what would happen if their secret got out

"No, we promised that we wouldn't tell anyone. Don't worry bro, I won't break that promise."

"Good, could you imagine the government finding out what we could do?" Cody said with a sigh of relief.

"Yea, I could just imagine all those weird tests they'd put us through."

"Don't forget the interrogations," Zack said, thinking back to the many crime shows he had seen on TV.

"Especially with everything we don't know," Cody responded as he leaned against the railing, gazing out into the vast ocean, "Heck, we don't even know how the whole thing ended. I wish we could have found out what happened with David and Trey."

"I could tell they had a hard fight ahead of them against Hakalahs," Zack said somberly, "The two of them weren't pushovers though, I'm sure they had more power than they were letting on."

"We don't know how strong Hakalahs was though," Cody stated. He knew that the three of them risked everything to bring him back, and wanted to believe his saviors were still alive, but that didn't mean it was true.

"After everything they did to help us though, they just had to win." Zack sighed, wishing he could have done more, but knew he didn't have a choice. He walked up beside his brother and they both stared out at the sunset in the distance. "I mean, it just feels like we'd know either way."

Cody tried thinking through the situation rationally. There were only so many possibilities, so it was possible to figure out the most likely outcome. "Well, if Hakalahs won, I'm sure that wouldn't have been his last battle," he thought aloud, "An ancient evil wouldn't stop with just those two, and the media would definitely be all over a story like that. So that would mean, he would have had to lose, meaning that David and Trey won." He hoped he was right, and that their friends were able to make it though. Logically it made sense, but with all the variables in the situation, it was impossible to know for sure.

"So you really think that they won back there?"

"I can't say for certain, but I think so."

"Wouldn't we have heard from them though?" Zack pondered.

"Possibly, but it's likely they wouldn't know how to find us," Cody said, "It's unlikely that they would have any way to contact us."

"I guess it makes sense," the older twin said.

"It's scary how strong Hakalahs might be though,"

"Yea, I'm not ready to fight someone like that."

"I know, neither am I." Cody said softly.

Ever since returning to a normal life, the twins made it a priority to practice with their powers. They had to be careful not to gather any attention, hense the reason they often did it late at night. There were days where the twins would run around the track as fast as he could. Other times, the dimensionals would play a game of basketball with their super speed, which sometimes led into a sparing match between the two. Even if they never needed their powers again, they couldn't take that chance after witnessing countless lives destroyed during the summer. Besides, there were times where the ability to move faster than the human eye could follow would come in handy, especially in the strange situations the twins often found themselves in.

A gust of cold wind abruptly came, sending chills along their arms which reminding them of the ship's next destination. Zack reached his hand out over the vast seas and several small white crystals found their way onto his palm before melting away. "It's snowing Codes," Zack said with a smile across his face.

"I guess with us going to England in the winter, it isn't too surprising."

"You think you'll get me into as many strange predicaments as you have here?"

"Maybe you do deserver a break, especially since I don't think we've had a normal day since coming here." Zack said thinking about all the weird things they had done in the first couple weeks at their new school.

"Yea, I had wanted to tell our parents about the strange things, but Woody kicked me off the computer before I could get far. I wasn't even able to tell them about Bailey."

"I'll take care of that."

_

_Dear Ash,_

_I'm sure by now you've heard Cody's story of how we got here, but I'm going to tell you the things the old people don't want you to know about, so make sure to keep it a secret. At least, don't tell them the details._

_Okay, so after the boring part of getting our books we went to our rooms. I put all my clothes away very carefully making sure everything was neat so nothing would be wrinkled. Remember to tell Mom that if she asks. Anyway, once my new roommate came in, I could tell we were going to get along well._

_He was wearing a hoddie, that was either red green or black, it was probably one of those. I don't remember exactly._

"_Hey bro, what's going on? Zack Martin," I said extending my fist toward him. He jumped back in shock though._

"_Ah, fist pound," he said after a second, and slammed his fist into mine. "Wow, you've already made a mess in here," he stated. _

"_You're not one of those neat freaks are you, cause I've dealt with one of those before," I replied. I was getting worried that it would be like living with Cody all over again. Nothing against our brother, but having a little freedom is nice. Not having to vacuum daily, not having to worry that everything is in perfect order, not having to worry about making sure his desk is free from my underwear, the simple things in life._

"_Nah, dude, what ever works for you is good with me."_

_I decided that I should be nice and help him get unpacked. Don't laugh, I can be nice sometimes._

_Anyway, you'll never guess what I found at the top of his bag. It was a large pink bra_

"_That's my girl's," he said grabbing it out of my hand._

"_Well, I didn't think it was yours," I said casually. Although, that would be an interesting situation if my roommate was actually a girl. It could turn out being a lot of fun. "So, what's your girl like?"_

_Then he went off on a long spiel which I don't feel like writing down. Things settled down, at least for a while._

_Anyway, if I told you about everything that happened that first day, it would bore you, and I'm sure Cody already did enough of that with his e-mail. _

_We started the first day of school, with a tour of the different classrooms and labs. Things were normal and boring, until we got to our biology class. Woody and I decided it would be fun to try feeing the octopus, but the stupid jar wouldn't open, so instead the Woodster decided to get it out of its tank. The octopus decided to respond by spraying Woody in ink, so he instinctively tossed it to me._

_It was a good thing, I still had my powers since I was able to toss it to Cody before it could do little more than get a couple small spots on my shirt. Cody did the same, and tossed it to Bailey, but in surprise of being sprayed, he tossed it…out the window._

_Cody in his love for all things of nature, nearly shot himself out the window to search for it. Luckily, it was stuck to the side of the ship, so the three of us lowered him down. And yes, the thought of dropping him did cross my mind, but then Moseby would yell at me for losing a student. Soon though, seagulls started attacking my poor little brother. He was able to use one of his time beam attack-things to scare them away though. _

_Anyway, we got him back in, although while pulling him back in, we ended up grabbing a hold of his shorts more than we planned. Great idea getting him share-bear underwear by the way; It'll make great blackmail material._

_So, more boring things happened, blah blah blah, until we had the incident in the game room. _

_London joined Cody, Bailey, and me for a game of galaxy raider, one of our favorites back at the hotel. While I was completely destroying everyone, (Don't let Cody tell you otherwise) the siren went off. After Cody checked his pocket guide to ships, he learned that three rings meant sinking ship, so the four of us burst out of the game room to flee to safety. _

_After putting life jackets on, and convincing London it didn't need to match, we went out to the life boats. Cody and I used our super speed to get ahead of the other two. Our plan didn't work out, since in our rush, we weren't able to stop in time, so we plummeted into the water. After wondering why the ocean was so warm, Moseby kindly informed us that it was only a drill and that my brother and I had landed in the hot-tub. _

_London and Bailey came down the stairs, obviously hearing the splash so they slowed down. After me and Bailey exchanged a few insults, we went back up to finish our game of galaxy raider, only to find that it had ended. Stupid drill made me lose the game…_

_Anyway, don't drive Mom and Dad too crazy without me there._

_Love,_

_Your awesome brother Zack.'_

___

"The moment we have feared has finally come," Altinia stated somberly.

"So, Hakalahs is finally making his move?" Heather asked with a deep fear filling her words.

"Yea, the seal's effects on him are eroding away. It's happening much faster than I thought."

"So, what can we do?" Aaron asked.

"Well, I'm guessing his first target will be the orbs of the elements," Altinia explained, "Two of them have already awoken, and I'm certain he has discovered this as well."

"You think he's going to strike then?" Aaron asked, trying to asses the situation the best that he could.

"I highly doubt his powers have fully recovered, so I don't think he'll attack personally. It's likely he'll summon a hoard of demons to do his bidding."

"Do we know where the orbs are?"

"I don't know the exact location of them, but that means neither does he."

"So, it's a race to find them," the older brother said.

Yea, it will be best if we split up. You two take the orb of earth which appears to be in or near El Paso Texas, and I'll go after the orb of fire. Once you get closer, as elementals, you will be drawn to it's power. "

"Do you know where that one is?" Heather asked, trying to ignore her fears.

"I believe it's current location is Boston Massachusetts. I've already made the plane reservations. Stay safe, and I hope to see you again soon," Altinia said as she left the building.

* * *

**A/N: So now you are starting to see how the twins being dimensionals has changed a few things. Things are going to start picking up soon, but in the mean time, tell me if there are any SLOD episodes you want me to incorporate into this story. Thanks for reading, and please review!**


	4. Chapter 4: Search for the Orbs

**A/N: Since this story is much bigger than just the twins,**** this chapter will be told from the perspective of ****the three elementals seen at the end of the last chapter****. Also, thanks to JustSoBored for betaing this.**

**Review replay to cailey: Since you didn't log in to review, I'll include it here. I hope I can live up to your expectations here. I'm hoping to make this even better, and the action will be coming soon. Don't worry, I'm not going to abandon this story.**

"_If floods will come all our lives,__  
__just climb the stairs, let the water rise,__  
__we'll build ourselves up to a towering height."_

_Our Own __Versailles, Galt Aureus_

**Chapter 4: Search for the Orbs**

Aaron carefully guided the old pickup as they travelled across the great desert with heat surrounding them that made them forget it was winter. They had just left El Paso, seconds behind the large semi they were pursuing. It may have seemed foolish to anyone else, but both elementals had an unexplainable feeling that their target was within that truck.

"How do you think we're going to get it?" Heather softly asked.

"The best thing to do would be to wait until they stop, then search the truck for it."

"What makes you think they will stop?"

"Well, they have to stop for gas or food sometime," Aaron answered logically.

"We can't keep going forever you know; our gas tank is only half full, and besides what if one of us has to pee?" she asked worriedly.

"You went before we left didn't you," he said harshly turning to her.

"Yea, but that doesn't mean I can last forever," she responded raising an eyebrow at him.

Aaron just shook his head and focused on the road ahead of him, his hands tightening on the steering wheel. He was already getting irritable, and he had a feeling it might just be a long day.

_

Altinia stepped out of the airplane that had deposited her in Boston. She stretched her legs, hating how much the planes confined her. Even for being away so long, she never imagined the world would be so different. Humans truly amazed her with their ability to keep making new discoveries that would astound those from even a generation ago, not to mention one as old as her.

She picked up her bags from the baggage claim, thankful for the advice of the other elementals not to try taking her bow and arrows aboard the strange flying machine. Fighting her way through airport security might be fun, but would not be beneficial to finding the orb.

As the ice elemental walked down the hallway that led out of the airport, she cleared her mind and tried detecting the presence of the orb. To her surprise though, she felt nothing. Even though Boston was a great city, that shouldn't be enough to keep a creator of the orbs from being able to find it. That could only mean one thing; the orb of fire had been moved.

"Can I help you ma'am?" a worker said walking up beside Altinia as she started out the window.

"I don't believe so Miss Wyntirsno," the elemental said, reading the worker's nametag.

"Well, if there is anything I can help do for you, feel free to ask," she politely said as she walked away.

Altinia pondered her next move. She knew that it would be pointless to randomly go out in a direction. If necessary, she could use her grand reveal spell to locate the orb but that took several days to prepare. She gazed around the airport looking for anything that might give her a clue, but she figured that would be a fruitless search.

After wondering aimlessly for an hour and getting chicken for lunch, she decided it might be best to just return to El Paso and figure out where to go from there. She walked up to the counter, noticing it was the same worker from earlier.

"And what can I do for you?" Wyn said placing her magazine down to take care of the customer.

"I need to get on the next flight back to El Paso," she said sadly. Her whole trip had been a complete waste of time, and now the orb was gone.

"It looks like our next flight will be leaving at about 8 pm, will that be acceptable?"

"Sure," she said pulling out a credit card that may or may not have been obtained illegally. As she handed it to the worker, the magazine the attendant was reading caught the elemental's attention. "Who is that?" she asked pointing to the celebrity on the cover.

"Oh, that's London Tipton, one of my favourite celebrities, and she doesn't live that far away."

Altinia grabbed the magazine and began studying it intensely. "There's no doubt about it, that's the orb of fire," the elemental said quietly, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention, noticing the necklace around the celebrity's neck. "Do you know where she lives?" Altinia asked franticly, nearly jumping over the counter.

"Yea, she lives at the Tipton hotel," Wyn said nervously. She was quite concerned about the franticness of the customer, and quite frankly it was starting to scare her.

"Where is that!?" Altinia demanded.

"Take a left turn out of here, and go about 3 miles down the road, and turn right. It will be the huge hotel on the right, you can't miss it."

"Thank you," Altinia said, regaining her composure and walking out the door.

Wyn was glad to be free of the crazy customer, but with a job like that, she was sure she'd see more mentally unstable people before long.

_

"This is getting annoying," Aaron said after they had finished the second hour of travelling, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

"Yea, why can't he just stop," Heather said, agreeing with her brother's annoyance. She looked out of the window, wishing for them to miraculously stop so she could get out and stretch her legs. They were beginning to really hurt.

"That would be nice, but that's not what I was talking about," the older sibling said, "I really have to pee."

"And you were yelling at me to make sure I went." Heather said, turning back to Aaron, rolling her eyes.

"Yea, I know," he said, hating being scolded by his little sister, but he should have known better than to drink that much before they left. Suddenly an idea hit him, one that would be completely insane in any normal situations, but in times like this it was only partly insane.

He grabbed the near empty water bottle sitting in cup holder and quickly finished it. "Heath, take the wheel while I take care of this."

"What do you mean," she asked worriedly.

He set the cruise control and ducked beneath the steering wheel to relieve himself into the bottle while Heather leaned over and kept the car from crashing into the cactuses on the sides of the road.

"I swear, you are the weirdest brother on the planet," she said as she heard the plastic container being refilled. The noise made her feel slightly ill.

"I'll take that as a compliment," he said with a chuckle. Once he was done emptying himself and making sure the cap was on tightly, he placed the container back in the cup holder. This caused his sister to send him a disgusted look. "Well we don't want to forget to bring it in. I could just see Dad taking a drink of it thinking it was mountain dew."

"Ew," Heather said physically cringing at the thought, but knew that their Dad would be the one to do that. She let her brother have control of the wheel again and they continued on.

They hoped it wouldn't be much longer until their target would stop, but they knew there weren't many rest stops through the desert roads of New Mexico. They had just passed the entrance of White Sands National Monument, so they guessed it would be a while until they came across the next potential stop.

They gazed forward, noticing how the sun had begun to set, and she saw a flash of red coming from their side. "That's not the sun!" Aaron screamed, slamming on the breaks. The flash turned out to be a giant fireball, which collided into the semi, blasting it off the road and sending it rolling into a sand dune. The elemental siblings pulled over and jumped out of the car, knowing a battle was coming.

_

Altinia walked into the Tipton hotel well after night had fallen. She hated that she wasted so much time just walking, but stealing cars or using her power to travel faster would attract too much attention.

She noticed a person in a Tipton uniform standing behind a desk who quickly ran over to greet her.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but we don't allow guests to check in this late," he nervously said.

"Then why was the door unlocked," Altinia responded logically.

"Um, well I'm kinda new here so I forgot. I'm Skippy, the night manager here." he said holding out his hand.

"Thanks, I'm Altinia," she said shaking his hand, but then switched to more serious matters, "I'm not here to get a room though, I'm here for information."

"Well, that's not really my specialty."

"I'll make this simple then. I need to find London Tipton," she said sternly.

Skippy knew from her tone that he didn't want to make her mad. "Well, her suite is 2514 on the 25th floor-"

"Thanks!" she said running to the stairs before he could finish.

"Except, she isn't there," he said to himself before locking the door and returning to his desk. She'd have to be back eventually.

After about 10 minutes of running up stairs, she found herself on the right floor, and quickly found the suite. She knocked on the door loudly, but no response. At a moment like this, remaining unnoticed wasn't overly important. She gathered the moisture in the air and formed a large block of ice which she sent flying into the door, taking it off the hinges and slamming it into a coffee table.

At this, the Tipton's maintenance worker ran out of the bathroom and noticed the damage. "Whoa, she's not going to like this."

"You're not London," Altinia said as she carefully analyzed the situation before she made another move.

"Nope, Arwin Hackhouser at your service."

"Do you know where she is?" a confused Altinia asked.

"She's out on the SS Tipton travelling the world," Arwin said.

"Do you know where it is heading?" Altinia asked, knowing that she still had a long way to go on her journey.

"You're not one of her stalkers, are you?"

"That is not your concern," she said pulling her bow out of her bag and notching an arrow in it.

"Um, well, I'm not sure," Arwin replied nervously, fearing for his life.

"You can find out though, can't you?" she asked, pulling the arrow back, causing Arwin's heart to pound even more rapidly.

"Yea, of course," he said quickly pulling out his laptop. After a couple minutes of getting his internet connection to work properly, he found what he was looking for. "Its next stop should be Eastbourne England, and will be there in five days."

"Thanks, have a good night," Altinia said lowering her weapon and leaving the room while stepping over the door.

"That was odd," Arwin said shrugging his shoulders and returning to work. It wasn't everyday a women with the body of a goddess threatened his life with a bow and arrow.

As Altinia rode the elevator back down, she noticed that she should check for modern convinces before running up 24 flights of stairs. There were more important things to worry about though. Even though she was still far from the orb, she hoped her opponents would be as well. Being cramped in a plane for the trip across the ocean was not something she relished, but it had to be done.


	5. Chapter 5: The Truth Revealed

**A/N: Welcome readers to my longest chapter of DE yet. I decided to base much of this one off Goin Bananas because I and many readers like it so much and it really fits into the story here. I also added my one-shot, "Plague of the Procrastinator" in here with a couple modifications, so I'm taking it down. Enjoy.**

Review reply to Cailey: Thanks again for your review, if you had an ff account I could respond sooner. You'll get your answers soon. I can understand most of your reviews, but a couple things are confusing. I really want to thank you for reading this even though it's in a different language

**Chapter 5: The Truth Revealed.**

"_This could be the start__  
__Of something new__  
__It feels so right__  
__To be here with you__  
__And now looking in your eyes__  
__I feel in my heart__  
__The start of something new"_

_Start of Something New, High School Musical_

**Friday February 5th 2010, 3:00 AM**

Stars of night hovered above the ship as it cruised across the Atlantic Ocean. At this hour, barely a soul was still stirring. There were the seven chefs preparing food for the many hungry passengers the next day. There was an overworked manager still awake going over the records for the past 2 months, making sure everything was running smoothly. One couple was still awake, after having a heated argument the night before. Lastly, there were the two young dimensionals on top of the sky deck. Everyone else was sleeping soundly.

"So, you really want to do this?" Cody asked as he contemplated his brother's suggestion.

"Yeah, I'm afraid we'll be too weak if we don't truly test our powers."

"But why? It's not like we'll have any more battles like last summer," the younger twin said.

"Even so, we can't be too careful."

"So, you really want me to kick your butt that badly?" Cody replied with a cocky grin.

"Oh, now it's on," Zack said filling his body with his power, indicating for Cody to do the same. The older twin thought back to their journey, with the many times that his brother saved his life.

"Bring it then," Cody teased.

"Don't hold back," Zack replied. From the start of their journey, he was always the weaker of the two, though that was to be expected considering Cody had far more experience battling. Being the older brother though, he felt he should be the one protecting other half. There were times he was even a little jealous of his brother's powers. He wanted to be just as strong, to not be a burden on his little brother. More than once though, he got into something more he could handle, and Cody had to come to his rescue.

"Right," Cody responded nodding, knowing that Zack would be offended by anything less. A feeling of joy coursed through the younger twin's body as his powers flowed through his body. Cody truly enjoyed harnessing his powers like this, even if he didn't relish the consequences.

Zack charged at his brother with a speed that no normal human could follow. He aimed his fist for his opponent, who responded equally fast by dodging to the side. Cody countered by sending an elbow into Zack's side, knocking him into the ground.

Before Zack landed, he stopped his descent by placing his hand against the ground. He swung his leg against the back of Cody's knee, sweeping him off his feet and sending him onto his back. The younger twin quickly rolled out of the way of whatever attack he thought might be coming, and then jumped back to his feet.

Zack wouldn't let his brother off that easily so he charged at him once again. The older twin let loose a fury of punches, but Cody managed to dodge or block all of them. Zack thought me might have a chance to knock his brother off balance again, so he tried to sweep Cody's feet out from under him again.

The younger twin was prepared this time, and jumped into the air, dodging his brother's kick, and grabbed onto his shoulders, propelling him further into the air. As he leapt over Zack, the younger dimensional kicked his brother in the back, knocking him face first into the ground.

Zack got up, and wiped the blood off his face, however, he quickly fell to his knees. Cody was shocked that his attack did so much, so quickly ran to his brother. "You all right?"

"I don't know, my ankle is killing me," he said gripping his foot. Cody helped him take off his shoe and sock so they could examine it better.

"It looks like it might be sprained," Cody said.

"I guess I landed on it wrong," Zack said trying to fake a chuckle through the pain.

"I think I can heal it though," the younger dimensional said as he began tapping into a different part of his powers. A faint blue light emanated around his hand as he placed it over the ankle. After a few second, the swelling faded as did the pain.

"You're really getting good at that."

"Well, I can't do anything major yet, and I have to catch it right away."

"Even so, the fact that you can reverse injuries like that is amazing."

"I guess it is," Cody said as he returned to his feet. "We better be heading back with school starting in a few hours."

"Yea, you're right. Thanks goodness it's Friday."

"I'm just glad to be finished with that big history report," the younger twin said as the two of them started back to their cabin.

At this, Zack's eyes widened. He knew there was something important he was forgetting, but until this moment, it had completely slipped his mind. It looked like he wouldn't be getting the sleep he desired that night.

**_**

Zack couldn't believe he had let it come to this. His fingers rapidly pounded against the plastic keys, at a fury that could wake the dead. The room was pitch black, save for the light coming out of the monitor, which cast a faint glow on the worker and his still sleeping friend. His heart beat rapidly, even faster that the keystrokes. Each tick of the clock mocked him, reminding the unfortunate soul that the deadline was quickly approaching. He wanted to check the time, to see how much longer he had before his failures were brought to the light of day, but he knew he couldn't allow himself to be distracted. He'd have the opportunity to waste time later.

The twin mentally cursed himself for wasting so much time playing video games with his brother last night. Of course his nerdy brother had probably finished the big essay over a week ago. Cody had probably still enjoyed is 8.3 hours of sleep, even with their early morning training because did he have to worry about finishing papers at the last minute? No of course not, he was the good student. Zack quickly shook his head, trying to get his mind focusing on converting everything he knew about the French Revolution into words on his computer screen.

The alarm starting ringing, startling Zack, and waking his still sleeping roommate. Bailey, still half asleep, fought with the alarm until he found the off button and then arose from his bed. He strolled over to Zack and stared at the screen of his hastily working friend. "Ah, the essay for history class," he said mockingly, enjoying the fact that his friend's procrastination was finally catching up to him. He leisurely walked over to his own computer and flipped the lights on, casting illumination on the darkened room.

"Shut up. Must work," Zack replied curtly, still staring at his own screen. It took all his willpower to continue concentrating on his goal instead of replying to his friend's commentary. He couldn't let the smooth feeling of the keys on his fingers distract him, or the fact that some keys were slightly rougher than the others.

The twin's cell phone rang, begging him to take a break and see if she had agreed to go out with him. Every part of his heart begged him to take just a quick break, but he knew now was not the time. He grabbed the phone, and quickly shut it off before returning to work.

"Have you checked your email recently?" Bailey asked unhurried.

"No, can't you see I've been working?" he said, pushing himself to type even faster.

"Well, Miss Tutwiller had to cancel class today because she was sick, so they essay isn't due till Friday," Bailey said.

"Really?" Zack exclaimed, turning off his laptop and going back to his bed, "I'll finish those last two pages later."

"I was joking," Bailey said, laughing at his roommate's gullibility.

"I hate you."

"Well, you had remembered to save that, didn't you?"

Silence was his only response, the atmosphere in the room suddenly becoming incredibly uncomfortable.

"Sorry, bout that then," Bailey said nervously.

"I'm so screwed," Zack said shaking his head.

"Not necessarily."

"I can't type a five page essay in half an hour."

"Well, doesn't Cody always archive his reports on his computer?"

"Then I'll just borrow one of those," Zack said, catching on to his roommate's plan, "Although getting to his laptop might be hard."

"I can take care of that," Bailey said as he mischievously exited the room.

Zack recognized the look on Bailey's face as one that was on his own more than once. However, if it would involve him acing the essay, he wouldn't questions his roommate's ways. After a couple moments, he heard his brother out in the hall, something about a carbon monoxide leak and needing to tell Moseby. Less than a minute later, Bailey returned with Cody's laptop in his hand.

"Do I want to know?" Zack asked raising an eyebrow.

"Don't worry about it," Bailey responded cryptically.

The older twin decided it wasn't worth it to press the issue, and instead began attempting to crack his brother's password. It only took one try for him to find it was 'IMissMommy'. "Now, to go into his folders," Zack said as he easily found the files he was looking for. The first to catch his eye was Cody's research project about Queen Elizabeth. After quickly emailing it to himself, he closed Cody's laptop and ran to place it back in his room.

Once Zack reached his brother's room though, the lock prevented him from getting in. "How'd you get in Bailey?" he asked.

"There's a trick to getting through these electronic locks," he replied as he fiddled with the lock until it opened.

"How do you do that?"

"I'll show you soon, but now we need to get it back before Cody learns I rigged his CO detector to go crazy," Bailey said as they quickly entered the room.

"I'm so bringing you with me next time I prank Moseby," the twin said with an evil grin as he set his brother's computer down and fled the room.

"Sounds good to me," he replied.

_

When the time came for the class to turn in their reports, most of the students were nervous, hoping they would do well, with only Zack remaining unfazed. He knew his essay would be brilliant, and was grateful to have a brother like Cody.

"You seem confident," the younger twin said, noticing his brother's lack of fear.

"I guess," he replied shrugging his shoulders, "It's only a paper, so why worry so much about it?"

"Well, everyone spent hours working on it, and it's nearly half our grade."

"I'm sure I'll do fine," Zack said, trying to think of a way to change the subject. "Would you be able to try teaching me some of those healing techniques," he whispered.

"Yea, I guess, but not during the middle of class," Cody softly replied, "I've always been interested in the history of the Russian Revolution."

At that comment, Zack decided it was time to catch up on sleep from the night before.

**Monday February 8th 2010, 12:45 PM**

The students gazed down at the essays they had just gotten back, most of them disappointed with their score. However, the two dimensionals had no such regrets. Cody was proud to have gotten the highest score in the class, just as he had done back at his normal schools. Zack however hadn't even received his paper back.

"You turned in it didn't you?" Bailey whispered while Tutwiler attempted to keep her students' attention long enough to finish her lesson.

"Yea, maybe she figured out it wasn't mine though," Zack replied, his heart racing.

"You changed the name didn't you?"

Zack panicked for a moment, knowing that would be the one mistake he would make in such a flawless plan, but he soon remembered that it was the last thing he did before printing it out. "Yeah, I would never do something that stupid."

"Sure," Bailey replied knowingly, "Maybe she recognized Cody's style too much and knew it couldn't be yours."

"That must be it. I knew I should have added a few spelling mistakes in there."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"I'll just say that Cody helped me with it, so it that's why it looks like his." Technically Zack would be telling the truth, at least most of the truth.

The bell rang, signalling freedom for the students who ran out of the room to devour lunch. As Zack was about to leave the room, the teacher asked him to stay for a moment, just as he had expected.

"How's it going teach?"

"I'd like to ask you that question," she said, "You're essay was very surprising."

"Thanks, I really put a lot of hard work into that, even asking my brother to help me make it as good as it could be."

"That makes it even stranger then."

"So does that mean I don't get a good grade on it?" he asked worriedly. He was certain that a Cody essay would be an A.

"The essay was wonderful, except for one paragraph." She pulled out his report and turned to the third page.

"I'm terrified of bananas. I imagine them chasing me, gnashing their fangs at me, and growling. It's gotten so bad I can't sleep. Please help," Tutweiler looked up with a slightly worried look in her eye.

"Well, I was finishing it up last night before going to sleep. I guess my mind decided to wander a bit there," he replied with a chuckle, trying to figure out how that got in there.

"Let's not hide our problem behind humour."

"I wouldn't really call it a problem," Zack said as he took a seat, trying to think of a way out.

"Zack, a phobia is not something to be taken lightly. I suggest you see the ship's counsellor to handle this before it grows worse."

Zack thought about protesting, but decided he could fake is way through some 'shrink' sessions. Besides, this raised a number of questions about his brother's fears.

_

**3:00pm**

"Mr. Blanket?" Zack asked as he nervously walked back into the classroom several hours later.

"Yes, Miss Tutwiler told me about your problem with bananas."

Zack screamed, jumping back in mock terror at the mention of the fruit.

The counsellor proceeded to pull out a doll which had a shocking and somewhat disturbing resemblance to the teacher. "It's worse than you told me," he said to the inanimate object.

"Anyway, we are going to do a few simple tests," the supposed psychiatrist said turning back to the twin. The two sat down as Mr. Blanket pulled out the ink blots. "I'm going to ask what you think about these pictures."

"I think you should have painted them with the lights on."

"No, they're ink blots," Mr. Blanket replied, trying to stay calm with his patient, "Ambiguous images. What you see will help us understand what you're feeling inside."

"I feel you're a terrible artist."

"I didn't paint them!" the counsellor yelled, causing Zack to back up in fear. "Now, what do you see?" he asked calmly.

"That's a banana!" Zack said with fear in his voice, "Making one of its scary faces right before it eats you!"

Mr. Blanket jotted a couple notes before moving on to the next picture. "What about this one?"

"A bunch of bananas, getting ready to make me slip on them."

"And this," Blanket asked nervously, moving on to the next one.

"I see a woman." This caused the counsellor to breathe a sigh of relief. "Stabbing me with a banana!" That scared him even more.

"I've helped kids with many fears," Mr. Blanket said getting up from his seat. "Flying, spiders, flying spiders, clowns, the dark, soup, ping pong balls, but I don't think I've ever heard of anyone with your particular phobia." Zack got up, and walked over to Mr. Blanket's desk.

"Well, as you can see, my fear is very real, so just sign this card and give me a hug or whatever it is that you do, and we'll go our separate ways." he said hastily, trying to get out of the same room as the strange counsellor.

"I will not rest until I've helped you overcome your fear, even if it takes many sessions and countless hours, we will not stop until we squashed this banana problem.

**4:15 pm**

As Zack left the therapist, he had learned three important things. For one, Mr. Blanket needed more mental help than those he tried to help. Two, people had some unusual fears, but third and most importantly, he needed to pay his brother a visit. He stole a banana from the ship's smoothie bar and went to the elevator for the students' rooms.

Zack couldn't believe that the brother he thought he knew so well would have such an unusual fear. They had gone through so many battles that would have caused others to run away, but they faced those fears head-on. How could someone like that be afraid of something as simple as a yellow fruit? The older twin focused his mind, and couldn't remember a time he had ever seen Cody eat a banana, although, he couldn't remember what he had for breakfast that day either.

The elevator finally arrived, and Zack tried slipping the fruit into his back pocket, only to discover he had something else there. He pulled out a square object that appeared to be two pieces of bread surrounding a strange substance. He sniffed it, trying to identify what it was. "Hm, it's either tuna, or fried oatmeal," he said, before shrugging his shoulders and eating the mystery food. He had to get rid of it someway after all.

After sticking the fruit in his pocket, he knocked on his brother's door.

"Need something Zack?" Cody said as he opened the door.

"Yea, there is something that has been bugging me," he said slowly entering the room.

"What's wrong?" the younger twin asked, concerned for his best friend.

"This!" Zack yelled pulling out the fruit and stabbing Cody in the heart with it. Unlike the fear that Zack expected, his brother just looked down in confusion.

"Um, thank you," the younger twin said taking the fruit and eating it.

"Wait, you aren't afraid?"

"No, why would I be?" Cody asked trying to logically analyze his brother's illogical actions. Only one possibility came to mind. "Did you poison it?" he yelled tossing the fruit to the ground.

"So you aren't terrified of bananas?"

Cody gave his brother a dumb look, trying to figure out how he could say something so outrageous with a look of complete seriousness on his face. He couldn't figure out if his brother was joking or serious. "Zack, are you okay?" he nervously asked, fearful that his brother might have finally snapped.

"Me," the older twin jumped back in surprise, "You're the one who wrote that you had a phobia of bananas!"

A smile came across the younger twin's face. "You stole my essay on Queen Elizabeth didn't you?" he said knowingly.

"How did you know?"

"Before I archive all of my papers I put a something bizarre in there just incase someone tries to steal them. I would have thought most people would have known to check before claiming it was their own," Cody said through a laugh.

"So you aren't mad at me?"

"Well, let's just say them thinking you have bananaphobia is revenge enough."

"Really, they couldn't think of a more scientific name for it though? I mean bananaphobia is pretty lame."

"I didn't name it," Cody said shrugging his shoulders, "I've heard the blanket remedy will be a lot of fun though."

Zack left the room knowing that his brother had a point. He wasn't sure how much more of the crazy psychiatrist he could take before throwing himself overboard. Then an idea hit him. He could just toss Mr. Blanket overboard, but then that would lead to police asking questions about a missing person and a big mess the elder twin didn't want to get involved in.

Then a more logical option came to mind. Zack couldn't believe it didn't come to him sooner. If he made a miraculous recovery from his phobia, he would never after see the mentally unstable mental health doctor ever again. All he had to do was eat a couple bananas, and then he'd be free.

**5:30**

"Mr. Blanket!" Zack exclaimed walking into his office, "I don't know how you did it, but I'm cured!" To prove his point, Zack pulled a banana out of his book bag and took a bite of it, peel included. He immediately regretted it, as the peel tasted disgusting but carried on chewing, not letting the expression get to his face.

"I was afraid of this," the psychologist said, "It seems we have a much deeper problem here than you originally let on. You're just internalizing your fear."

"Well don't worry; I'm sure I'll be externalizing it later," Zack said, grinning widely.

"No, our work here has just begun," Mr. Blanket declared, "We need to find the root cause of your bananaphobia. Perhaps it stems from a traumatic experience you had as a child."

"No, I don't think so," Zack said casually as he sat on Mr. Blanket's desk, "I had a great childhood. Well, until that happened a couple years ago."

"What happened?"

"Well, my parents died," Zack stated calmly.

"Wow, that could really cause some psychological problems." Mr. Blanket asked, curious to know the mental pain Zack must have been hiding.

Zack contemplated how much he should reveal. Other than his brother, there was no one he could truly talk about the events. Sure, his new family knew some, but they didn't know all the times they nearly died. "There was a car crash," he said softly, "my brother and I were adopted by different families."

"Were you two close?"

"Yea, we were twins; you can't get much closer than that. Sure, we had our arguments. He was the brainy one, always acing every class, even getting awards from the mayor. I was just the easy going one, only doing what he had to to get by. There were so many times though we'd bail each other out of whatever mess we got into."

"That must have been hard on you."

"I guess I never thought about what it would be like when we were separated, it seemed like something that was years away."

"Did you ever see him again?"

"Yea, the story has a happy ending," Zack said through a smile, "At the end of last summer, after a crazy adventure, he was adopted by the same family as me. We were together again, and everything was back to normal. Last semester he even managed to ace every class, while helping me to keep my B average."

"It sounds like he's a really hard worker."

"And don't get me started on all those extra-circulars, even getting several awards from the mayor last year."

"I have an idea Zack," Blanket said getting up from his desk. "Meet me back here in an hour, I want to try something."

"No offense, but I have plans tonight."

"If things work out right, you might not have to see me ever again."

"See ya in an hour!" Zack said eagerly, taking off for dinner.

**6:53**

After eating what the chef claimed was food for dinner, Zack went back to the counsellor's office, hoping to see him for the last time. He wondered what treatment he had planned, and at the same time feared for his life, probably with good reason. Even so, he entered the room, ready to just get this whole mess over with.

"Zack, I think I'm finally starting to see the real you."

"You have?" The elder twin wondered what bizarre idea the counsellor had come up with this time.

"You're not afraid of bananas," Mr. Blanket said walking to the door, "You're here because of your brother."

At this, Zack's heart sank. He had been so close to getting away with this, although he might still have a way out. "Look, I can explain," he said as he began trying to think of an excuse.

"No need, you've grown up in the shadow of an overachieving brother. Always feeling unwanted, and unloved. If you will, a second banana."

"Okay…" Zack said nervously.

"This sort of thing produces a fight of flight reaction," Mr. Blanket explained as he walked to the door. "So far you have been fleeing; it's time to face the first banana."

He opened the door, revealing Cody standing there, in a giant banana costume. This caused Zack to laugh harder than he had since they were reunited.

"I'm leaving," Cody said as he turned around.

"Not so fast," Mr. Blanket said closing the door and pulling an object out from his pocket. "Keep in mind I have the authority to sedate anyone on the ship I see fit."

"First of all, no you don't," Cody countered, "And second, that syringe is filled with icing."

"I know," he replied as he pulled a cupcake out of his pocket. "Happy cupcake for happy tummy!"

The twins shot each other a look that indicated they were wondering who would hire someone like this.

"Sorry about that, I need my regular sugar intake, or I have mental problems. Now," Mr. Blanket picked up a pillow, and handed it to Zack. "Hit the banana! Bruise him!"

Cody's eyes lit up at this. "Whoa, hold on a minute, don't do anything-"

He's cut off by Zack slamming the pillow into his arm. This caused Cody to retaliate by slamming his brother with the head of the banana. After slapping each other for a few seconds, Zack was able to knock Cody to the floor with the pillow, and land on top of him.

"Might I ask where you degree is from?!" Cody yelled at the counsellor who was encouraging the violence.

"Shut it monkey bait, it's your fault we're in this possession!" Zack snapped at his brother.

"How is it my fault you can't write an essay?" Cody said as he rolled himself on top of his brother."

"It's not that I'm unable, it just wouldn't have been as good as one of yours. Nothing I ever do seems good enough. It's not always easy compared to you."

After moaning over the pain, Cody was able to sit up, shocked at his brother's words. "How do you think I feel? You've always been the athletic one, the popular one, and good with sports and girls. And when we went to school together, I was nothing but your long lost brother."

"Yeah, but it seems like everything comes so easy to you. You are able to go through school and get A's naturally, and it feels I can never be as powerful as you."

"You really feel that way?" Cody asked, now finally realizing how his brother felt all along.

"Yeah," Zack said softly. "I never knew that you felt so alone. It seemed like it never bothered you."

"At first, I thought it was just because I was the new kid, but no matter how much I tried, it felt like no one would accept me."

"I'm sorry Codes," Zack said as tears started building in his eyes, "I should have known."

"It's my fault too. I didn't want you to think I was just a loser who couldn't do anything without you."

"I'd never think that," Zack said, "I may tease you about being a nerd, but I admire that about you. You've been through so much, and nothing seems to stop you, I never stopped to think how you were truly feeling. I love you bro."

"I love you too," Cody said as his brother helped him up. They then embraced in a gentle hug.

_

Cody walked through the halls of the ship, contemplating what he had just learned about Zack. True, he had always been better at school, but did Zack always resent him for it? He knew that Zack pushed himself in school, hoping to make him proud, but was it more to prove that he could be that way too? The younger twin shook his head, trying to process this information as he tossed the banana costume back in the ship's storage.

As he exited the room on the lower deck, the only sound he could hear was his shoes connecting against the metal floor. Through the echo though, another sound penetrated the near silence. It was soft, like a cue of a dove. It almost sounded like a person, but hardly anyone was ever down here.

The dimensional pushed all other thoughts away and tried concentrating on the sound. At first he thought it was just a mouse, or the ship's machinery, but as he focused it sounded like a person, a person crying to be more precise. He followed the noise to a door which he tried to open, but it was locked.

"Open up!" he yelled pounding on the door.

He heard a voice on the other side, but it sounded like it was muffled. Cody knew whoever it was could be hurt, so he began gathering his power in his hand, and blasted the lock of the door. The force pushed the door forward and he ran into the dark room.

He gazed around, with the light of the hallway providing the only illumination in the room. His eyes locked upon a girl on the floor. She had a cloth over her mouth and her hands were tied behind her back. Her foot was also chained to a pipe in the wall.

Cody immediately bent down and began freeing her, noticing her long brown hair. "Are you okay?" he asked once she could talk.

"Not really," she said, "I never thought he'd let me out of here."

"Who did this to you?" the twin asked as anger filled his voice. When he found out who this was, they would pay.

"He never told me his name," she softly spoke, "He ambushed me the first day of school, and tossed me down here." Tears started flowing down her cheeks as they had done so many times before. She embraced Cody in a hug, glad that someone finally came to her rescue.

"You're safe with me now."

"What's your name?" she asked wiping the tears away.

"Cody, and yours?"

"Bailey"

_

"How are things going today captain?" Moseby asked as he joined the navigators on the bridge of the ship.

"Not half bad," he replied, "The sky is clear for many miles in all directions, and we have a light wind pushing us forward."

"It looks like those clouds are approaching awfully quickly," the manager said pointing to a black spot against the clear blue sky.

"Those don't look like ordinary clouds," the captain said as the black figures in the sky approached.

Moseby grabbed the binoculars, and zoomed in on the mysterious figures. His eyes widened as he made out their eyes and scales. He dropped the binoculars to the ground in surprise. "Sweet mamma molasses, are those dragons?!"

_


	6. Chapter 6: Battle of the SS Tipton, I

**A/N: I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I'm sure you'll see why. I included the times at the beginning of each scene since I keep switching characters here, and a couple don't go in chronological order. Enjoy…**

"_I've got a Nightmare to remember__  
__I'll never be the same.__  
__What began as laughter__  
__So soon would turn to pain.__  
__The Night was clear and frigid__  
__The air was thick and still__  
__Now I'm not one to soon forget__  
__And I bet I never will"_

_Nightmare to Remember, Nightwish_

**Chapter 7: Battle of the SS Tipton, part 1**

**Monday February 8th 7:20PM**

Zack continued standing on top of the sky deck alone with his thoughts. He stared up to the sky above as it slowly shifted from the blue of day to the black of night, with all colors in between. It seemed a fitting symbol for his life. It never seemed to stay the same for long, always changing like the colors of the sky. They had really been through a lot. As he thought about his life and his argument with his brother, the audacity of his jealousy occurred to him. His pride of always wanting to be the best had got in the way of admiring Cody's strength, instead of just wanting to surpass it.

Several loud screams startled the older twin out of his thoughts. He got up from his chair and looked around, trying to find the source of the shaking. His eyes widened as he looked over the balcony and onto the main part of the sky deck.

The guests ran franticly from the monsters that filled the deck. The fiends came in many different forms, some humanoid wielding swords and axes. Others resembled zombies with razor sharp claws which easily sliced through the tables and chairs, along with any people unfortunate enough to be close to them. There were also the beasts which looked like black wolfs, only bigger. One thing all the monsters had in common was their pitch black skin.

Zack couldn't believe his eyes. He was horrified with the sights of the monsters spilling blood of anyone close to them. The ear piercing screams of their victims letting loose their last breath made him want to run away, but he knew he had to do something. Even though he would be outnumbered and possibly outmatched, there was no way he could just stand back and do nothing.

The dimensional leapt from the balcony and onto the sky deck, brining his sword out as he landed on one of the wolves. Two of the zombies came at him, but with a quick swipe of his blade, he cleaved them in two. Looking around, he guessed the fiends numbered at least 50, way too many to take down while preventing them from claiming any more victims. "Hey uglies!" he taunted, "Why go after them when you can have some fun?"

Just he as thought, most of the monsters charged at him. The twin parried an axe that was aimed at his face, before slicing the monster across the chest. He let his power take his speed to its maximum as he ran through the monsters, leaving a slash across most of their bodies. Their discolored blood began dripping along the ground, but most of them seemed unfazed by the attack.

Another axman ran at the twin, who sidestepped the attack before swiping his blade across its back. However, in his attack, he didn't see the wolf coming from behind him. The monster brought it's dagger like claws across the older twin's back. The searing pain brought the twin to his knees while the other monsters continued to surround him.

"I can't lose this easily," he declared, feeling the blood pour down his back. From his knees he managed to block the claw of a zombie before removing the fiend's arm. He saw another wolf charge at him, which he rolled out of the way to dodge, and then hopped back onto his feet, ignoring the pain that told him to stay still.

He knew the blood loss from his wound would finish him soon if he didn't find a way to stop it, but at a time like this he only had one option, win. He wished he had Cody's ability with time to reverse the wounds, but instead he'd just have to use the gifts he had to end the battle quickly.

Zack jumped back to avoid the claw aimed for his head, and nearly slipped when he landed on a beach towel. He knew that even with his speed, he couldn't keep dodging the attacks when there were still so many enemies after him, but the towel gave him an idea.

Zack picked it up, tying one end of the towel to the end of his sword. He tightly gripped the other end and swung the towel through the air, carrying the sword with it. As the sword spun, it looked like the blades of a fan. He smiled as he ran at the monsters, allowing his sword the slice the fiends in half. Those lucky enough to survive one blow couldn't stop the continuous spinning that reduced the army of monsters to nothing.

The dimensional fell to his knees from pain and exhaustion, after exerting such a force in that attack. He was breathing heavily not ready to fight anymore. Fortunately, the attack had destroyed his targets; otherwise he might not have been able to defend himself. He looked around; hoping for someone who could help him, but no one was there. In a way he was grateful, the others had taken the chance to flee while he killed the beasts. Now he could relax, knowing the innocents were out of danger.

However, he had no chance the rest when he heard screams coming from the other side of the ship. "No rest for the weary," he said to himself as he struggled to get back to his feet.

_

**7:23**

None of this made any sense to Cody. "You said your name is Bailey?"

"Yea," she said as he helped her back to her feet.

"But you're a girl."

"Ya think I don't know that?" she snapped at him.

"Sorry, it's just that my brother has a roommate named Bailey, and he's a guy."

"Uh, is he an Asian with short black hair, black eyes and about 5 foot 10?"

"Yea, that's him." Cody's eyes began widening as the pieces began falling together.

"That's the guy that did this to me!"

"Let's go!" he exclaimed as the two of them ran out of the storage closet and down the hall way. Their steps echoed against the metal floor as they rushed to the elevator. Suddenly, the sound of more steps on metal was heard, this time much heavier, and in much greater number.

"Someone's coming," Bailey said.

"Back up!" Cody ordered and she took several steps back. He focused his body, not knowing who it could be, but knowing it might be the imposter. If it was, he'd pay; Cody would make sure of that.

The door to the staircase burst open and a group of horrifying figures ran into the room. "What are those?" Bailey asked.

"I'll handle this," Cody said firmly, allowing his power to take over his body. Just like the sky deck, the monsters were of different types, some zombie like, some wolf like, and the others humanoid. Cody's heart began beating rapidly. If his mind wasn't focused on saving Bailey, he would have been scared. "Get back to the room," he instructed.

"But they'll kill you," she said worried.

"Don't worry; I can handle this."

"Okay," she said nervously. She couldn't see how her savior could survive against monsters, but all she could do was to trust him. As she began running back as he instructed, one of the wolves changed at her.

Cody saw the fiend rush past him, but wouldn't allow her to fall victim to its claws. Before anyone could see what happened, he had kicked it into the wall. Two of the zombies then ran at him, now seeing the threat he could pose. One tried swiping his razor sharp claws at him, but before they could strike, he had delivered a powerful uppercut to its jaw, knocking the fiend to the ground. Cody turned to the enemy beside him spinning though the air and delivering a mighty kick to its side, knocking it into more of the approaching monsters.

Several of the wolves ran at the young dimensional, but he wouldn't yield to them. As one tried swiping a claw at him, he responded with a mighty kick to its jaw. He jumped back to avoid one that jumped at his throat before slamming his fist into its face. One of the warriors then ran at him, swinging its axe, but Cody ducked to dodge it. He grabbed the fiend by the arm and tossed it onto its back. He tried prying the weapon from the monster hand, but as he did, one of the wolves latched its jaws onto Cody's left arm. It ripped a large piece of flesh away as it pulled away.

Cody fell to his knees in pain, seeing blood cascade down his arm. Tears began flowing down his cheeks, and he knew he had to end the battle fast. So far he had held back, not wanting to either harm Bailey or cause damage to the ship's structure. No more though, if he didn't strike with everything he had, both their lives could be in danger.

The dimensional jumped back, dodging another axe aimed at him. He held out his right palm at them, harnessing the fullest extent of his power. A blue light began glowing in his hand. "Get away!" Cody yelled as he sent several pulses of the light at the monsters.

As each blast connected, the monsters were shot back in an explosion of blue sparks. Anyone that tried to charge at Cody was quickly met with a blast of the destructive energy. The fiends knew they couldn't defeat such power, but they had another target.

One of the wolves ran past Cody as he was blasting other fiends, and aimed its claws at Bailey. "Cody, help!" she screamed as she reached for a broom to try defending herself. She blocked its claw with the wooden handle, but it shattered into a million shards.

Cody saw he let his guard down, so he let up his assault to rush back to Bailey. He grabbed the wolf by the neck and tossed it back to the remaining monsters. Even if it took everything he had, he would stop these beasts. He formed a large sphere of the destructive power in his hand, nearly a foot in diameter. He blasted it at the monsters, causing a large explosion, rocking the entire ship and eradicating the remaining foes. He then fell to his knees in exhaustion.

With his adrenaline fading, the fearsome pain in his arm made itself known once more. Cody gathered what little power he had left in his hand and placed it over the torn flesh. Slowly the muscle and skin began reforming, but as his power faded, there was still blood pouring out.

Bailey rushed over to him, wanting to do something to help her hero. "Are you okay?"

"I've been better," he replied, mentally yelling at the pain to go away.

"Can you walk?"

"I think so," he said as she helped him to his feet.

"We need to get you to someone to take care of that arm."

"I don't think this battle is over yet though," Cody said, somehow knowing his brother was also in a fight for his life. "I don't know if I can beat any more of them.

"Well, we can't be unprepared then," Bailey said picking up a sword from one of the corpses. "If they come after us, I can stop them."

"They're too dangerous though; it took everything I had to survive that."

"So, none of us having a way to fight them is a better idea?"

"You're right," he said as they entered the elevator. He was glad that it was still working after all the attacks he had fired off in that direction. Channeling that much power through his body had completely drained him. If it weren't for that fact the ship was still in danger, he would have collapsed and taken a nap, right there on the elevator.

_

**7:29**

London sat in her room, reclined in her chair as she carefully painted her toenails pink. The boat began shaking, causing her brush to slide off onto her toe. "I'm going to have a word with the captain in the morning about his bad driving," she said before returning to her nails. She glanced over at her unwrapped text books and remembered something important that happened in class. Chelsea sent her a text message telling her that she was coming next week. This wouldn't work at all for the heiress. Her current room was smaller than her shoe section of her closet. There was no way she'd ever live through something so humiliating.

As she was racking her brain for a way out of this, she heard a knock at the door. The heiress shrugged her shoulder; it was probably just another rabid fan trying to take over her life, so she ignored it. The knocking got louder; almost sounding the like the door was about the fall over. "Fine, I'm coming," she said aggravated as she walked to the door.

On her way there though, the door fell in, revealing several creatures, just like the fiends that attacked the other decks. London couldn't believe what she saw.

"Wow, I know why you came here," she said with utmost confidence. "You came here for beauty tips, and believe me, you need it. You guys are ug-ly." The heiress obliviously turned around and went to her makeup closet for some conditioner.

While she did that, the monsters burst in the room, sensing their target was close. One of the wolves ran past her, into her closet and began dragging its claws through her clothes. "Hey, those are my babies!" London protested before kicking the fiend in the side of the head.

The creature turned its head to London, which caused the heiress to jump back in fear. She started to run out of the room, but her path was blocked by a couple of the zombies. "Uh, can I help you?" The wolf growled to the other monsters as it emerged from the closet with a large red gem its teeth. "Hey, Daddy gave me that as a Hanukah present! That is a one of a kind priceless ruby from the mines of Peru, and it doesn't go at all with your black fur."

Outraged that the monster could take something so valuable, London found only one option available. Disregarding her fears, she charged at the monster, kicking it in the face, making it drop the orb. Using her martial art skills, she rolled along the ground grabbing it, before shoving the fiend into her bed. The two zombies ran at her to get the orb, but she kicked one in the face and delivered a powerful upper cut to the other. London stepped back, noticing her attack barely fazed them.

They ran at her again, and she was backed into a corner now. "Get away!" she screamed holding the orb forward. The gem began to glow a brighter red and flames came out of it, consuming the zombies. The wolf jumped at the heiress, who replied with a powerful flaming kick to its side, killing it as well. "Wow, I knew I was hot, but nothing like that." She then left her room to find Moseby, figuring he should know about the damage to her wardrobe.

_

**7:10**

Altinia pushed the throttle of her jet-ski as far as it would go. Her sources had indicated the captain would begin his attack on the SS Tipton any moment. If she didn't get their fast, there would be no way to prevent the orb from falling into enemy hands.

A shadow covered her, and she looked up to see three dragons flying over head. She fired several shards of ice at them, but it didn't do anything to slow them down as she sped away from them. After what seemed like an eternity of travelling, she finally reached the ship. Using the moisture of the ocean, she made an ice bridge and leapt onto the deck to begin the battle.

_

**7:35**

Zack contemplated just staying there to rest after the fight, but knew not all the monsters had gone after him. There were others in danger, and he had to do something to help. If he could find Cody, that would make this a whole lot easier. His brother could tend to the wound on his back, and then they'd be able to fend off the other monsters together. He had covered the slash across his back with a towel to try to slow the bleeding, but doubted it did much good.

The dimensional walked to the front of the ship and was shocked to see his roommate surrounded by several of the zombies. Immediately, he knew he had to do something to save his friend. Tapping into his powers once more, he charged at the zombie, slicing its head off, before turning to the other and kicking it off the side of the ship.

"So, my hypothesis was correct," he said glancing toward his friend, "You are a dimensional."

"Wait, how do you know about us?" Zack asked. He never recalled telling his roommate about his powers, and was certain Cody didn't.

"I have a slight confession to make, I've lied to you."

"What?" Zack said confused.

"I've enjoyed the few weeks with you, but I am not Bailey Picket. My name is Ryo Zhou, lieutenant of Hakalahs' second division. He held his palm out and lightning coursed through his fingers. "Now my friend, I will give you a choice."

_

**A/N: So many questions here, and you might get some answers soon. I plan to update part 2 tomorrow, so please review!**


	7. Chapter 7: Battle of the SS Tipton, II

**A/N: **Originally I was going to have this be a part of the last chapter, but I thought splitting it up might make it less overwhelming.

"_Rise through the pain, like the sun will rise again__  
__Day after day but the memories never change__  
__Stand before the storm, as the last horizon falls__  
__Blinded by the vision and the innocence of our souls"_

_Operation Ground and Pound, Dragonforce_

**Chapter 7: Battle of the SS Tipton Part II**

_

**7:15**

After work, Mr. Blanket decided to stop by the ship's smoothie bar to celebrate the results of his latest case. If things kept going this way, he might actually have a third of his patience successfully cured. As he stepped off the elevator, the strange beasts on the deck told him something was seriously wrong. He looked down to his Tutwiler doll and said, "Miss T, I think we need to get out of here."

He turned to rush back in the elevator, but it had already closed, so he franticly pressed the button to call it. The fact that it had wasn't opening told him it already left. One of the wolves saw the frantic therapist so it ran at him.

"Whoa, good doggy," he said taking several steps back slowly. "Want a cupcake?" he asked nervously, tossing one of his snacks at the best. The monster grabbed it out of the air, with the sweet taste intriguing its taste buds. It looked up at him, eyeing the human curiously. "You want another?" he asked, thinking he might have found a way to get out alive. The therapist grabbed his remaining three cupcakes and tossed them on the ground and prayed the elevator would get there soon. The beast was glad to see the food and quickly ate those, and to Mr. Blanket's relief, the door opened. He stepped in it, but as the monster saw the door was closing he rushed into the elevator too, not willing to let this source of tasty food to get away.

"Uh, I'm all out of those," he said knowing there was no way to get away from the monster. Not content with the answer, the wolf knocked his bag to the floor and began digging through it, eventually pulling out the syringe of icing. Using its razor sharp teeth, it torn the plastic container apart and began licking the icing off the ground. Mr. Blanket noticed it was wagging its tail happily and once again turned to his doll, "And mom said I wasn't good with animals."

The door opened and the therapist sprinted down the hallway, hoping to lose the strange animal. However, it was right at his side. As they rounded corner, Mr. Blanket froze at the sight of two of the warrior type monsters. One had a blade pointed at the human. "Friends of yours?" he asked his new companion. As the swordsman charged at Mr. Blanket, the wolf began growling ferociously. The warrior took no heed through, and sliced his sword across the therapist, ending him in one strike.

_

**7:35**

Mr. Moseby couldn't believe what he was seeing. He never thought he'd see dragons in the sky above the ship. "This could be bad," he said somberly, "Captain, is there any way we can get away from them?"

"I'm afraid not, they are moving too fast and heading right for us."

The two men racked their minds for something they could do. It seemed too strange for this to be mere coincidence, with the mystical creates overhead, and the Tipton being the only ship for miles in every direction. Moseby was called out of his thoughts by his phone ringing.

"Moseby here."

"Sir, we have a big problem on the ship. I don't know how to explain it, but horrifying monsters are attacking the passengers. I tried to help, but they were too strong and too many of them," Kirby franticly exclaimed.

"I'll be there soon."

"Sir, you can't; they've already killed a number of passengers." Moseby hung up his phone, knowing that he had only one choice to save the ship. It could be dangerous, but he knew now was as good of time as any.

_

**7:35**

Cody and Bailey rode the elevator up to the sky deck after he remembered that's where Zack was going after their therapy session. He had tried to convince Bailey to stay behind several times, knowing it would be hard to protect himself and her if they were attacked again. He pushed his body to the limit in the last battle, and knew that he could fight for long, if at all. After all she had been through, he didn't want to her to be the next victim. Even so, she refused to stay back.

The door opened, revealing evidence of a ferocious battle. Numerous human corpses were strung along the walls and floor. Some were in decent condition, killed swiftly, while others were mangled terribly, barely recognizable as human. Cody cringed, not wanting to imagine the pain they went through. Along with the human bodies, a number of the fiends' bodies covered the ground, signaling someone had been able to put up a fight, but where were they now?

"Zack," Cody said softly.

"Who?" Bailey responded.

"My twin brother, he must have tried fighting them." Cody scanned the bodies of the victims, hoping he wouldn't see Zack among them. After a quick glance he didn't see him among the dead. In the distance though, he heard a voice that sounded like his brother. "Come on, let's go."

Cody sprinted off in that direction with Bailey following as close as she could. He could have gone faster, but he didn't want to push his powers any more right now, otherwise he would be useless if he had to help Zack fight.

_

**7:40**

"I have a slight confession to make, I've lied to you."

"What?" Zack said confused.

"I've enjoyed the few weeks with you, but I am not Bailey Picket. My name is Ryo Zhou, lieutenant of Hakalahs' second division. He held his palm out and lightning coursed through his fingers. "Now my friend, I will give you a choice."

"Wait, do you have something to do with this attack?" Zack asked, trying to make sense of this mess.

"I am their leader Zachary. I don't want to have to fight you though. As a fellow ancient, you belong with us. That and I enjoyed our friendship. So, won't you join us? Together we can bring these inferior humans to their knees."

"I enjoyed our time together too," Zack said pointing his sword at the traitor, "but if you want me to go around killing people like this, then I won't hesitate to cut you down myself!"

"A pity, I'm sure you and your brother would have made a great addition to us."

Zack readied his body for another fight. The only elemental he had fought was David, and he knew that wasn't his full power. Combined that with the fact he was already tired and injured, he knew this battle wouldn't be easy. Even so, killing the leader could possible stop the reaming monsters, so he had to win.

"Zack!" a familiar voice called out. He turned behind him and saw his brother running up to him with a girl he had never seen beside him.

"That's him!" she yelled pointing to the elemental.

"He's not what you think," Cody warned his brother.

"Yeah, I know. I could use your help kicking his butt though."

"Count me in," the younger twin said, determined to avenge all the pain he had caused.

"Heh, two against one should be more fun."

Ryo gathered the power of lightning in his hands, curious how fighting these dimensionals would compare to his sparring practice.

Cody was the first after him, moving as fast as he could to get close, and knocked Ryo into the air with a powerful kick. Zack followed it up by leaping into the air after him, and delivered a powerful punch to his chest, sending the elemental careening back into the floor.

Ryo rolled out of the way as soon as he hit the ground, avoiding that sword that was where his head was a second earlier. He jumped back to his feet, but Cody wouldn't let him rest. The younger dimensional ran behind him and charged at him once again. The elemental knew he couldn't avoid these attacks, so he channeled lightning through his feet, creating a wall of electricity around him. Cody leapt back just fast enough to avoid being electrocuted by it.

The twins stood back for a second, trying to analyze what was going on. The lightning made a direct attack impossible, at least until he let his guard down. Cody wished he could use one of his energy blasts, but he was too weakened to utilize that kind of power now.

"Now die!" Ryo said as bolts of lightning broke off from his shield and flew after the twins. They used their speed to narrowly avoid the many attacks, some of them within inches of striking them. The elemental saw simply blasting them wouldn't be enough to match their speed. He'd make sure they couldn't escape.

He sent several bolts of lightning at Cody but unlike before, they stopped before they reached him. They formed a cage several meters in dynamiter surrounding him. From the cage, more blasts of lightning came out of the cage at him. He was surrounded, so there was no way he could dodge them all. He spotted an opening in the cage so he tried harnessing his speed to escape, but he unwillingly fell to his knees, his powers dissipating.

Zack saw the danger his brother was in, so burst through the opening, wrapped his arm around Cody's chest and pulled him away from danger, moving faster than he ever had before.

"I'm sorry Zack, I can't fight anymore," Cody said breathing heavily. He hated being unable to help his brother here, but he had pushed his powers far beyond their limits. He was just lucky they had lasted that long.

"I'm not sure how much longer I can go either," Zack said. He could feel his heightened speed fading, signaling his body weakening. "We have to get out of here." Zack hoped he had enough power left to get away from this fight alive.

"I can't let that happen." A wall of lightning fell behind them, cutting off any means of escape, "And no, you don't get a second chance to surrender to us." Ryo once again began charging an attack in the palm of his hand. He loved seeing his enemies squirm when they knew their end was coming. He let loose the blast of lighting, which the twin's tried to outrun, but without their powers, they couldn't get away.

Before the lighting could connect, a shield of ice appeared blocking the attack. The twins looked around confused, thinking they should be dead from something like that. "Ryo, we meet at last," a strong feminine voice said.

Turning behind them, the twins saw a women approach them, armed with a bow. She fired an arrow at the wall of lightning and ice appeared along the wall, dissipating the electricity. "Boys, you've fought well, but I'll take it from here."

They weren't really sure what was going on, but they saw no reason to argue with her, so they ran away with what little strength they still had. "Altinia, he said you'd find a way to interfere with this. It's too late though; we'll have the orb and be out of here before you can stop us."

"We'll see about that," the ice elemental said, notching another arrow.

_

"Do you have any idea what's going on here?" Zack asked, confused at this whole mess.

"Not really. I found Bailey tied up in a storage room below deck and then we were attacked by those monsters."

"So you're the real Bailey?" Zack asked pointing to her.

"Yeah, that Ryo captured me on the first day of school and tossed me down there."

"And then he impersonated Bailey for the past few weeks," Cody said, "But why, are they attacking the ship?"

"They must want to get rid of us for some reason," Zack suggested.

"Perhaps, but then they would have come after us with everything they had. It looks like they had another objective, and just wanted to get us out of the way while they were at it," Cody said. He knew if they could figure out their enemies objective, perhaps it would be easier to stop them.

"Uh, guys," Bailey said with a worried look as she pointed to several zombies behind the twins.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Zack exclaimed.

"I can't fight any more of them."

"Well, I don't think their giving us much of a choice." The older twin tried drawing on his powers once again to summon his sword, but he couldn't reach it. "Think we should run?"

Cody nodded in response and the three took off, but the zombies were still right behind them. "How are they this fast, I thought in all the stories they could barely move!" Zack exclaimed.

"Well, if you haven't noticed, this isn't exactly a work of fiction," Bailey responded.

Zack glanced around for anything to defend himself with, but he didn't' see anything that looked like a weapon. His eyes locked upon one of the beach umbrellas and decided it would have to do. He grabbed the pole of it and snapped it shut, deciding it could work. He turned to face the monsters, and swung the umbrella at them, but the one destroyed it with his claw. "Well that didn't work," he said tossing it aside and running to join his friends again.

Soon they were backed against the side of the ship with their enemies quickly closing in on them. "There is nowhere to run," Cody declared somberly.

"And we can't beat them without our powers." The twins tried gathering just a shred of their powers so they could fight again, but once again to no avail. As they waited for the fiends to finish them off, spheres of red energy collided into the monsters, destroying them. The three teens looked up, at their savior, seeing the last person they thought would help them.

Adorned in his black suit jacket, and white shorts, he floated in the air. Unlike all the other times they met him; he had black wings on his back, and held a ball of red energy in his hand.

"Mr. Moseby!" the twins shouted in unison.

"Boys," he said calmly, "There are some things about me you don't know."

_

**A/N: **I hope you enjoyed updates two days in a row, but don't count on another chapter tomorrow. Even more dangers await the heroes next chapter, so I hope you will keep reading.


	8. Chapter 8: Clash of the Elementals

**Review reply to Cailey: Thanks for your review to chap 6, and I hope you continue to enjoy my battles, more will be coming.**

**A/N: While you may be excited about the action on the Tipton, let's not forget that it wasn't the only place where battles are occurring.**

"_We gotta hold on ready or not__  
__You live for the fight when it's all that you've got_

_Whoa, we're half way there__  
__Whoa oh, livin' on a prayer__  
__Take my hand and we'll make it I swear__  
__Whoa oh, livin' on a prayer"_

_Livin on a prayer Bon Jovi_

**Chapter 8: Clash of the Elementals**

**White Sands, New Mexico, February 8th 2010**

The elemental siblings drove forward, continuing to follow the semi ahead of them that held the orb of fire. Their plan was simple, wait for the truck to pull over, and quickly find the orb and take it away before anyone knew what was going on. It had been several hours though, and the truck hadn't shown any signs of slowing down.

"Wow, the sunset is really bright tonight," Heather noted, looking at the giant ball of fire in the sky.

"It seems to be getting bigger," Aaron said looking out his window, noticing something seemed off. It then occurred to them why.

"That's not the sun!" they yelled in unison as Aaron slammed on the brakes. The fireball passed right in front of them and collided into the semi, sending it tumbling through the sky and exploding as it flew into several cactuses.

Aaron pulled the car over to the side of the road, leapt out and ran over to the burning vehicle. He stood back several feet, mouth completely agape while his sister was barely capable of forming words. "What did this?" Heather asked.

"That would be me," a mysterious figure said walking into the area.

The elementals turned behind them to see a man in red armor covering his body from the neck down. His bald head reflected the light of the sun, and a fireball rested in his hand.

"Who are you?" Aaron demanded of this stranger.

"Insolent little whelp, you dare talk to a captain like that? You will know your place!" The stranger sent a stream of fire at the two, but Aaron quickly formed a shield out of the sand, deflecting the attack. The heat of the blaze filled the air causing sweat to pour down their faces, but the sand protected them.

"He's strong," Aaron said as he barely managed to keep the shield up against the raging flames.

"Yeah, but he's outnumbered," Heather said as she gathered as much moisture out of the air as she could. With the arid desert air, it wasn't much, but would be enough to battle with. She formed a whip from the water in her hand, ready to battle the enemy elemental.

Heather jumped out from Aaron's shield and swung the water whip at his stream of fire, dissipating the blaze. She then turned her sights to the captain and swung her attack at him, but he simply blocked it with another blast of fire.

"I see you are more than just mere humans. As fellow elementals we shouldn't be fighting. I am David Alaimo, and I have a proposal. Join us in our cause to eradicate all the inferior human beings, and we shall reward you greatly,"

"Um, how about we just kick your butt instead?" Heather responded, her eyes narrowing in annoyance. She really hated arrogant people like that, who thought they were better than anyone else. She looked forward to putting him in his place.

"Yeah, we're not afraid of you." Aaron backed up his sister, who he could tell was getting more and more annoyed.

"Really now, then I guess I won't have to fight you," David said as he leapt back. Over the horizon a large number of monsters appeared beside him.

"What are those?" Heather asked.

"I would explain it to you, but with the strength of these monsters, you'll be ripped into pieces long before I can begin to explain," he said as the various fiends charged at the siblings.

Aaron wouldn't be fazed by something like this though. It may have been his first real battle, but he knew the power he possessed and wouldn't be beat by fiends this pathetic. He held his hands out and the sand conformed to his will.

Heather stood beside her brother, a similar power flowing through her. She knew her powers would be limited in the desert, but also knew that one who could control water wouldn't be defeated easily. With their powers combined, they were nearly invincible.

The first wave of wolves charged at them, but Aaron countered by spinning the sand around them in a vicious vortex. The sand blinded the fiends, forcing them to halt and look for a way out of the whirlwind. This gave the earth elemental the chance he needed so he combined the many grains of sand together into a massive boulder and slammed it onto them, easily crushing them.

Several of the wolves also charged at Heather, but she knocked them away by swinging her water whip at them. The immense pressure knocked them off their feet, but still more of the monsters charged at her. She wished there was a body of water nearby she could use to strengthen her attacks, but sadly, all the water she could harness were the droplets that scarcely populated the air.

The water elemental's attack wasn't enough to kill the wolves so they quickly got up and ran at her again. She tried fending them off again, but several of them saw the attack coming and leapt into the air to dodge it. With her defenseless after using that last attack, the monsters pounced on her. She lost control of the water so it fell harmlessly to the ground.

Aaron saw the danger his sister was in so he ran to her, using his control of the sand and rock around them to block any incoming attacks. The earth elemental was able to knock the monsters away from his sister with several blasts of sand. He formed several solid rocks out of the road and sent them at the monsters, crushing them, but the elementals were still horribly outnumbered. He couldn't fail though; he'd keep fighting till the end. "Don't worry Heath; I won't let them hurt you."

She wished she could fight along with him, but the slashes across her body from their attacks made it too hard to even stand. "Okay, be careful."

Monsters were all around them, but whenever one tried getting close enough to strike, Aaron quickly knocked it away with a rock to its face. If he could keep up this defense long enough, he might be able to beat them, but he could already feel himself growing weaker.

"It's too late!" David announced from a safe distance from the fray. He pointed to the flaming truck where one of the wolves had a brown orb in its mouth. "Now, allow me to end this." The fire elemental ran at the siblings faster than their eyes could follow. He quickly got through Aaron's shield, and placed his hand on the earth elemental's chest. "Too slow," David declared as he released a mighty inferno, sending Aaron's flaming body to the ground. "You're next," he said turning to Heather, "Good bye."

She was shaking in fear, knowing that she had failed and was too weak to safe herself, much less her brother. David stared down at them, a sadistic look in his eye. He enjoyed crushing those foolish enough to think they could beat him.

As the blaze was about to exit the fire elemental's hand, he suddenly fell to the ground, and sent to fire skyward instead. Aaron was on his knees, his hand around David's ankle. The earth elemental was breathing hard, obviously injured from the attack with most of his shirt destroyed by the fire and blood pouring out from his wounds.

With what little power he had left, the earth elemental sent several rocks at the fiend who had the orb, killing it and knocking the brown sphere to the ground. He wrapped the orb in layer of sand and rock.

"You can't destroy it," David said spitefully.

"I'm not planning to." Using all the strength he had left he sent the orb rocketing through the sky and over the horizon. "I just plan to keep you away from it."

"You think that will keep you both alive?" David said as he sent a blast of fire out of both hands at the two before walking off. They fell to the ground, with Heather barley able to hit a button on her cell phone before falling unconscious.


	9. Chapter 9: Battle of the SS Tipton, III

"_I've got my back against the wall  
But I still hear the blue sky call  
The chains that hold me back inside  
Are the prisons of my mind"_

_Free, Switchfoot_

**Chapter 9: Battle of the SS Tipton Part III**

"Moseby, what are you?" Zack asked in awe of the manager's black wings and mysterious powers. Everything he thought he knew about his old nemesis had just been turned on its head.

"We don't have time for a long explanation, we need to stop the rest of these monsters," he replied sternly.

"Wait, we? You know about us?" Cody asked wondering how much the manager had kept hidden.

"I know that you somehow were able to fight them off, but I don't know exactly how. What matters now though is that neither of us are strong enough to beat them on our own, so we must stand together."

"I wish we could, but we've already fought so many, I can barely stand," Zack said.

"Do you know how many more of those are left on the ship?" Cody asked knowing if they couldn't over power the monsters, they'd have to outsmart them.

"I don't know, but it seems like most of them were on the sky deck, even though there are a number throughout the ship," the manager answered.

"If we can somehow lure them all up here, we might be able to wipe them out," Cody pondered.

"True, but how do we get them all up here, and what do we do once they are?" Bailey asked. They knew the situation was bleak. Even after taking down dozens of the fiends, they were still horribly outnumbered.

"Well, it might be best to just get the people to the lifeboats and then just get away like that," Cody suggested.

"I got it!" Zack exclaimed as a brilliant but slightly illogical idea came to him, "If the monsters are after the people, then they will follow them up here where the passengers will hop on the lifeboats, and while the monsters are up here, we call on an old friend to take care of them."

"Who?" Cody asked.

"Hele of course; after all she was a military helicopter."

"I thought you said you had her disarmed!" Moseby said.

"Moseby, you should know by now that just because I said something doesn't mean it's true," Zack argued.

The manager mumbled something about the crazy hooligan's plan, but he couldn't argue with Zack's logic. They needed more firepower, and that's just what the helicopter could provide. "I'll have the captain make a ship wide announcement; I just hope this works," Moseby said pulling out his phone and calling the captain.

"Moseby!" a high pitched screamed echoed through the deck.

"London, what are you doing here?" Zack asked.

"Some hideous monsters are jealous of my beauty so they tried to steal my jewelry!" the heiress declared. She held out the red gem in her hand.

Upon seeing the gem, Zack and Cody glanced at each other. "That looks familiar doesn't it?" the older twin asked.

"Yeah, it's like the orbs before, but this one is a different color and I don't feel the same power coming from us," Cody said.

Before they could figure out what it was, three of the wolves leapt up from the stairs and ran at them.

"More of them!" Zack complained.

"Don't worry, I'll handle this," London declared.

"No, they'll kill you," Moseby said, reaching out to stop her, but she moved too quickly.

The heiress stood in front of the group, and the monsters saw the orb in her hand. The three ran at them, but London harnesses the power of the orb and sent a stream of fire at the monsters. The blaze quickly incinerated two of them but the third one jumped over the fire and was about the land on London. She saw it coming though and did a back flip, sending it off the side of the ship with a flaming kick.

"Whoa, you're not just hot, you're on fire!" Zack exclaimed, amazed that she possessed that kind of power.

"I know," she replied with a grin.

'_Attention all passengers, please calmly make your way to the lifeboats on the sky deck. We are evacuating the ship.'_

"Okay, now we just need to get the helicopter out of storage," Zack said.

"We'll take care of things up here then," Moseby declared as the older twin ran off toward to lower decks.

"Don't die Zack," Cody said worriedly.

"Don't worry, you won't be getting rid of me anytime soon," Zack replied with a grin and a thumbs up before running into the depths of the ship

_

The two elementals stood across from each other. Altinia held her bow up, an arrow aimed at her opponent's heart. Ryo held his palm out, lightning coursing between his fingers. "He said you might get in our way," the lightning elemental said.

"In that case I'm surprised he'd send someone as weak as you. I won't complain about an easy fight though."

"Yeah, but I at least wanted a challenge."

Ryo sent a blast of lightning at her, but she leapt to the side to dodge it, and replied by firing an arrow right at her target. He waved his hand in front of himself creating a wall of lightning, which easily deflected the arrow. Ryo wouldn't give her the chance to fire another.

With lightning coursing in his fists, he sent countless spheres of electricity at Altinia. The ice elemental narrowly dodged them, jumping or ducking at the last minute. He wouldn't beat her that easily.

He ran at her, continuing to unleash a fury of electricity, hoping that he'd be able to strike easier up close. She aimed another arrow, but didn't get the chance to fire it with the barrage of lightning bolts flying at her. It took everything she had to avoid being fried by his attacks.

She formed a shield of ice, stopping him in his tracks. He tried to blast through it with his lightning, but to no avail as it was just was absorbed by the ice. A direct attack wouldn't work here, but that didn't mean he was beat.

He took a few steps back, and ran at the wall of ice again. She wasn't sure what he was planning but that didn't matter. He gathered the water out of the air and transformed it into sheet of ice over the floor. As soon as Ryo stepped on the ice, his feet went out from under him, causing him to fall onto his back.

This gave Altinia the opening she was looking for so she quickly dissolved the shield, notched an arrow and fired it into his right arm, attaching it to the floor. "If Hakalahs' commander would fall for the oldest trick in the book, then he's even more pathetic than I remember."

Ryo wouldn't let this insolent pest insult him any long. He yanked his arm out off the ground, paying no heed to the arrow still in it, nor the blood rushing out. In his uninjured hand, he gathered more lightning, but as he went to blast it, she fired three more arrows into his body. This impact, combined with the icy floor, knocked him back to the ground.

Altinia couldn't help but smile at her foe's arrogance as she continuing firing arrows at her foe. He tried to get up and dodge them, but he couldn't get his footing, and several more pierced his back and legs. Blood poured out from his wounds, and even though he hated to admit it, he had lost. He reached into his pocket, pulling out what appeared to be a phone. He pressed a single button before another arrow knocked it out of his hand.

"You're not calling for backup," Altinia declared.

Ryo looked up at her. She was right about one thing, he was too weak to beat her, but he couldn't just run away now. He fired several more bolts of lightning, but they were much weaker this time. She easily dodged them and aimed one final arrow. A quick blast through the skull would make sure he never got up again.

As the arrow left the bow, it was perfectly on target, but her target disappeared. She looked around hastily, searching for her opponent.

"Impressive," a stranger said, standing a distance back, carrying Ryo on his shoulder. "I must commend you for defeating a lieutenant like that."

"Who are you?" Altinia thought the man looked familiar, but couldn't quite remember who it was

"I don't have time for introductions," he said before opening a dark portal and stepping into it.

Altinia wondered who the stranger was and what kind of power he possessed, was it truly someone from her past, or possibly a descendent of someone she once knew. The way he moved, he appeared to be a dimensional, along with the two that had tried fighting Ryo before. She pushed those thoughts away temporarily; for now the important thing was to protect the ship and make sure the orb stayed out of enemy hands. She grabbed her phone out of her pocket and pressed the number 2. "Adian, Peter, we have a code beta near my location."

"Peter here, we're busy right now, can't it wait?"

"If you don't get here soon, a number people will die," she said sternly.

"Understood, but we can't both come. I'll be there soon though."

_

Zack ran down the stairs of the ship after discovering the elevator wasn't working anymore. He could tell the ship had already taken a lot of damage. Once he reached the lower decks, the lights started flicking, making it much harder to see, especially since the sun had just set. Even so, he continued on, keeping an eye out for any monsters that could be around the nearest corner. He hadn't had much time to rest, so one wrong turn could spell the end for him.

Once he reached the third floor, he felt the ship shake and the lights completely went out. The shaking threw him off balance and he fell into the floor, banging his head against the wall. After resting for a brief second to make sure he wasn't overly dizzy, he slowly got up, using the wall to keep his balance. With the hallways now completely black, he had to go on his memory and feeling his way along the walls. Luckily, he was on the right floor, so he didn't have much farther to go.

Finally reaching the ship's dry storage room, Zack opened the door and walked in. He reached in his pocket and pressed the button for the automatic start, and his favorite toy lit up, illuminating the room in the wonderful light. The dimensional walked over to the door that led to the outside of the side, and tried opening it, but without power, it didn't work. An idea struck him, and he couldn't believe he didn't think of it earlier.

Zack ran back over to the helicopter and raised it slightly in the air. He turned it so it was facing the door, careful not to go too high to avoid the ceiling. It was a large storage room, but not made for flying helicopters in.

Once he turned the helicopter around, he pressed the red button sending two missiles at the door, completely blowing it off the ship. "Thank you United States Air Force!" the older twin exclaimed eagerly as he pulled out of the small room and over the mighty ocean waves.

_

The many passengers made their way to the sky deck and the lifeboats attached to it. Just as the heroes thought, the monsters continued to pursue them, but London and Moseby were able to get those lucky enough to make it to safety. Cody couldn't fight anymore, but he tried to guide people to the lifeboats and to calm down the frantic passengers, not an easy task.

For each monster Moseby and London took down, another one seemed to take its place. "This is getting ridiculous," the manager said, jumping back to dodge the claw of one of the wolves, before leaping into the air and blasting several of them with red energy blasts.

London delivered a flaming kick to one of the zombies, knocking it into several of the other fiends. She then held out the orb and sent several fireballs out, incinerating several more of the monsters.

There was a lull in the attack so Moseby landed, breathing heavily beside London. Luckily, they had gotten through that battle with minimal injuries, but they heard more of the monsters coming.

"Let's back up, Zack should be here soon," Moseby instructed and the two of them backed up near the railing, waiting for help to arrive. After a tense moment of wondering when more monsters would come, the next wave of the beasts came, and charged at the pair, their ferocious growls filling the air. However, the battle cries were soon drowned out by the roar of a helicopter.

They turned behind them and yelled for all the passengers to duck, as they too jumped to the ground, to get out of the way of the helicopter's fury.

Zack saw all the innocents were out of the way and the monsters were in the middle of the deck, so he carefully aimed at the creatures, quickly cutting them down with an array of bullets. The attack pierced the flesh of the many fiends, quickly ending their lives. A few more monsters came, but they too became a victim to the machine guns.

_

"What's going on here Altinia?" a brown haired teen asked, standing on the site of the battle between the ice and lightning elementals.

"It was just as we feared; Hakalahs sent his commanders out in several directions so we couldn't stop all of them."

"Yeah, and it seemed like another dimensional was moving the monsters so we couldn't intercept them."

"That would explain it; a captain came saving Ryo, so I'm guessing he was the one responsible. Anyway Peter, there are a lot of wounded on the ship, so heal them as you find them. I'm going to finish off the rest of these monsters.

_

Zack landed his helicopter once the monsters seemed to stop coming. His friends and even Moseby ran to greet him. "Wow, that was incredible," Bailey said.

"Quite impressive young man," Moseby added.

"Wow, that thing is big!" London exclaimed.

"Nice job, that toy of yours really saved us," Cody said with a grin.

"Are you the ones that stopped the monsters?" Altinia asked, as she walked up to the group, surveying the monster corpses along the ground.

"Yeah, thanks for saving us," Zack said.

"Who are you anyway?" Cody asked.

"My name is Altinia, and I'll tell you more about me soon. You two are dimensionals I take it," she said pointing to the twins, "You fought with the orb of fire." she glanced at London. "I never thought I'd see one of your kind, Nightwing," she said as Moseby released control of his wings allowing them to fade away.

"I'm surprised someone form this world has heard of us," Moseby said.

"I'm sure I've heard of a lot of things most people haven't," Altinia declared.

"I see we gravely underestimated you," a stranger said, appearing out of nowhere. The twins turned at the familiar voice to see a teen with short black hair facing them. "Zack, Cody, I never thought we'd meet again, but I'm impressed with how strong you've gotten."

"Trey, what are you doing here?" Zack asked as a million different thoughts filled his mind. He couldn't believe he was once again standing before the one that helped him kill John, the one that let him bring his brother back, the one who gave him a reason to keep fighting. Even so, there was something about this situation that seemed off.

"Do you have something to do with the attack?" Cody asked, feeling the same sense of hope and suspicion as his brother.

"I had hoped you could just have a normal life, and forget all that you had been through," Trey said, "After all, you didn't deserve to be victims of these attacks. You truly are righteous and courageous people, but I should have known you would find your way into this war. You've done so much already. Releasing Lord Hakalahs and stopping John was more than I could have asked for, so you have my thanks."

"Wait, so you were with him?" Cody asked.

"Yes, now I recommend you stay out of the coming fights, I don't want to have to fight my friends, but if you are in my way, I will have no choice."

Before Zack could shoot several profane remarks at him, Trey vanished as discreetly as he appeared.

_

**A/N: Well the action is over, at least for now. The heroes have gotten the taste of the power their enemies possess, but this is only the beginning. **

**I want to make a disclaimer that I stole Adian's name from Renny's fic Older Brothers and Peter from my friend and fellow author, Waldo Jeffers. Sorry if all the new characters are confusing, but you should see enough of them to see how they fit into the story. The main focus will still be on the twins though. **

**I also want to announce that I'm going to have to slow down updates for a little while. Don't worry; there is no way I'm abandoning this fic, just taking a small break from writing with everything going on with school.**


	10. Chapter 10: Take a Breath

**A/N: It's been a long time, but I'm back. Sorry for the logn wait, but to make up for it, here's a long chapter! Also, I've started a forum to discuss this story, along with some sneak peeks of what's to come.**

**Thanks a lot to JustSoBored, Wyntirsno and Woundedhearts for betaing this for me. You guys are awesome!**

'_Cause there's always gonna be another mountain  
I'm always gonna wanna make it move  
Always gonna be an uphill battle  
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose_

_Ain't about how fast I get there  
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side  
It's the climb'_

_The Climb, Miley Cyrus_

**Chapter 10: Take a Breath**

**February 8****th**** 2010 9:15pm**

Zack looked around, the sounds of the battle no longer filling the night sky. A million thoughts raced through his mind, concerning Trey, the injuries along his body, and the safety of the rest of the ship. However, amongst all this chaos, one thought pushed all others away. "Are all the monsters gone?" he asked.

"It would appear so," Altinia answered, not hearing any more of their growls.

"In that case," Zack said holding up a finger, as if to make an important point, "Wake me in the morning." The older twin then proceeded to collapse face first on the ground and began snoring loudly.

"Did he really fall asleep that quickly?" Moseby asked, almost forgetting that it was Zack he was talking about.

"He has the right idea," the younger twin said as he laid on the ground beside his brother as he too quickly fell asleep.

"I would have thought that Cody, would have at least made it to his bed," the manager noted.

"After all they've been through today, I'm surprised they held out that long," the ice elemental said. She bent down between the twins, lifted them, and placed them on her shoulders. "I'll carry them to their rooms." She wished she could have gotten there earlier to help them so they didn't have to suffer so much. They were so young, but because of Hakalahs, they were forced to fight for their lives. "Where is their room?" she asked, feeling a tear crawl down her cheek at the tragedy.

"Zack's room is 2330 which is down two flights of stairs on the right."

"Thank you," she said before heading for the stairs with the twins resting on her shoulders.

A heavy silence fell upon the others. London gazed around the ship, noticing the many dead monsters littering the deck. This was all so overwhelming to her, one minute she was painting her nails, and the next, she was in a fight for her life. None of this seemed real. "Daddy's not going to like what they did to his ship," she said trying to lighten the mood.

"I think we might have more important things to worry about here," Bailey said.

"Yeah, we should try helping those still alive," Moseby declared and the three of them went searching through the ship to see if there was anything they could do after this brutal attack.

"Peter, I need you to get down to room 2330 as soon as possible," Altinia told the person on the other end of the phone once she had laid the twins in the beds in the room. She also made a mental note to have someone replace the door that she had knocked down to get the twins in there. In her haste, she hadn't thought about the fact it might be locked, but a blast of ice quickly took care of that obstacle.

"There are a lot of other wounded around the ship too that I need to take care of," Peter replied.

"What about Adian?"

"Well, we brought Aaron and Heather here so all the wounded are in one place, but he's still healing them."

"They were hurt in the battle with David?" In the chaos of her battle, she had nearly forgotten about the danger the other elementals were in.

"Yeah, both of them were wounded horribly. If Heather hadn't sent a distress call out when she did, they would both be dead now."

Altinia took a long breath. She had hoped that they would have been able to reach the orbs before Hakalahs was able to, but his armies had moved faster than she planned. "Make sure they are going to be okay first. The twins up here aren't in any immediate danger."

**February 9****th**** 2:37AM**

"What's going on?" Cody asked groggily. He was still half-asleep, but he could feel something strange going on in his arm, as if someone was reaching into it and rearranging the pieces.

"I'm trying to put your arm back together after those creatures tore it to shreds."

Cody tried leaning up in his bed to get a better look. Someone he didn't know was leaning over him with his hands hovering about the younger twin's arm. A faint blue light emanated from his hands. In the faint light, he noticed that the stranger had sandy blond hair and deep ocean-blue eyes "What are you doing?" Cody asked. He recognized the blue light as being the same energy the dimensional used to battle with. Having a stranger with that kind of power so near him filled him with dread.

"I'm healing your arm. I recommend not moving it otherwise I might have to amputate," the stranger said with a smile.

Cody thought this person was joking, but decided it wouldn't be worthwhile to move his arm and test that theory. "So who are you anyway?"

"My name is Peter. Altinia had my brother and me come to help heal all the injured here. You're a dimensional, aren't you?"

Cody nodded, still trying to understand what was going on and how this person was able to heal him.

"That was quite impressive with how you were able to heal your own arm during the battle," Peter said as he lifted his hand allowing the blue light to fade. "I was able to finish restoring it to normal, so the pain should be completely gone in a couple hours."

"Thanks"

"Just don't use your powers for a day or so or it could cause some bizarre side effects."

"Like what?" Cody asked. He really wanted to learn more about his powers and it seemed like this person could have the answers.

"Well, the worst case scenario is that your entire arm gets trapped in another dimension." This caused Cody's eyes to widen. "I'll tell you more about it in the morning though," Peter said as he turned off the lights and left the room.

**Malibu California, February 9****th****12:48**** PM**

The Malibu museum of Native American history was crowed that day, many students enjoying the various displays of the past. Hakalahs merely laughed to himself at how foolish these mortals were. So close to them was one of the most powerful artifacts in the world and they thought it was only a simple yellow orb; soon though, he would show them the extent of its power.

Letting his instincts guide him, he followed the various students, not wanting to attract too much attention, at least not yet. Even though he knew no one here could stop him, it wasn't time to strike. Once he had the orb in his possession, then he'd show these mortals his power.

Finally, the group rounded the corner, and Hakalahs' eyes locked upon the glass container in the middle of the room. A wild smile came across his face, as he looked around, holding back a laugh. Those fools had no idea that their lives would be over in a matter of minutes.

Hakalahs walked over the container, pulled his fist back, punched through the glass and grabbed the orb. A number of sirens went off and security quickly rushed over to the scene.

The dozen security guards quickly surrounded him, various weapons pointed at him. "Pathetic," he scoffed before lifting his palm out with lightning coursing between his fingers.

"Put the orb back, and put your hands in the air," one of the guards ordered, his tazer pointed at Hakalahs.

"An ancient like me has no need to take orders from mere mortals." He sent several bursts of lightning from his palm, killing the guards before they could even fire their weapons. The other people began fleeing as fast as they could, a wise decision, but it was far too late. Hakalahs formed several balls of fire in his hand and sent them down the various hallways, incarcerating anyone unfortunate enough to be in the way.

"Miley, no!" a high-pitched voice called from one of the hallways. Hakalahs was impressed that someone could survive his attack, but after firing another blaze, he knew there wouldn't be any survivors left.

He went through the building, blowing away any walls in his way until he finally reached the entrance. Once outside, he looked behind him and launched one more fireball at the museum, turning it into nothing but a smoldering pile of ash.

**SS Tipton, February 9****th ****9:33 AM**

"No, not the sponge, anything but the sponge."

"Zack, wake up," Cody said as he gently shook his brother.

The older twin's eyes flew open as they tried to make sense of the normal surroundings. "So that was only a dream," he mumbled.

"A nightmare?" Cody could see how the previous night's events could affect Zack.

"Not really," Zack said shrugging his shoulders as he climbed out of bed, "It was just really strange. The dream started off with me just swinging in the park, the sky was blue, and the grass was green like it should be, except there were baboons everywhere, but that didn't seem too strange, at least not at the time. Then out of nowhere, a heard of samurai cows charged at me. I was scared so I jumped in Hele, but all the controls had been replaced with cheeseburgers. I got out and just as they were about to kill me, it started raining waffles which drowned the cows. That's when you woke me up."

"Why were you mumbling about sponges then?" Cody asked, hoping that his brother's dream wasn't foreshadowing anything.

"I have no idea."

"You didn't have anything strange to eat last night, did you?"

"No, I ate dinner before going to meet Blanket, and then after that those monsters attacked, falling asleep on the sky deck is the last thing I remember."

"Maybe some side effects from all the fighting?" Cody suggested knowing that his brother's mind worked in strange ways sometimes.

Suddenly, a ferocious growl filled the room. "That explains it. I didn't get my midnight snack so I'm starving," he said as he looked down at his stomach.

"Let's go find some food then," Cody said, laughing at his brother's strange dreams. He never thought that going just 15 hours without food could cause those kinds of nightmares, but with Zack, he never knew what to expect.

As he went to the door, he glanced down to discover dried blood covering his clothes. His sleeve had a giant hole in it from the monster taking the bite out of his arm. "I think I should change my clothes first." If there was one thing that Cody hated, it was being covered in filth when he didn't have to be.

"Why? You've never looked better," the older twin said sarcastically.

Cody went across the hall into his room, surprised that Woody wasn't there but dismissed it as his roommate already eating or in the game room. He tossed his old clothes in the trash, knowing it would take far too long to get all the stains out and sew the holes back together. After putting on some neatly pressed clothes from his closet, he went out to meet his brother.

They walked through the ship, aghast at the horrors filling every corridor. What was a simple cruise ship a day ago had now been turned into a hospital at sea. The stench of the battle filled the air making sure no one forgot what happened the night before. The game room had been turned into an infirmary with anyone who knew anything about medicine trying to help those they could. The classroom had been converted into a morgue to hold those not lucky enough to survive.

"This is horrible," Zack said as they saw a pile of mangled body parts lying outside the hot tub once they reached the sky deck.

The ship's cleaning crews had started removing remnants of the battle, but making the ship look good wasn't high on their priority list.

"Cody, you're okay!" Bailey yelled running at him and throwing her arms around him.

"Watch my arm," he said softly returning the hug before pulling away.

"Oh, sorry" she said softl.

"Well, while you two catch up, I'm going to see what they still have to eat," Zack said as he walked into the student cafeteria.

"You hear about what's going on?" Bailey asked.

Cody shook his head. "Zack and I just woke up."

"Well Moseby said they've basically cancelled all the recreation on the ship and instead are just trying to keep the injured alive. He's called a meeting in the theater for all the passengers to attend at one today to give us the full details. That lady, Altinia I think it was, told me that she wanted to meet all those who fought off the monsters after the meeting."

"That makes sense, we're still three days away from England so they could attack again," Cody said.

"I hope not," she replied softly.

"You okay Bailey?"

"Yeah, it's just weird getting used to all these people and actually being free from him. Ryo had me down there for a month. I'm so scared he might come back for me." Tears started to build in Bailey's eyes.

Cody knew he had to do something; he hated seeing such a beautiful girl in so much pain. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. "Bailey, he won't do anything to you ever again. I promise."

Looking up into his eyes, she knew he was being serious. It had been so long since she felt so safe, so secure. She wasn't afraid at all and she knew Cody would protect her if anything else happened.

"Thank you," she calmly said.

After piling his plate full with bacon, sausage, ham, eggs, pancakes, waffles, doughnuts, toast, more bacon, cereal, a cinnamon roll, hash browns, and even more bacon, Zack decided he should sit down before he dropped it all on the floor. Finding an empty table, he set his plate down and waited for Cody and Bailey to get there.

"Hey Zack, mind if I sit here?" he heard a stranger say.

"Sure," he said shrugging his shoulders.

As the teen sat down beside him, Zack tried remembering his name. After a month of school, he thought he had remembered everyone's names, but this person still eluded him. That left only one possibility. "You here on vacation?" Zack asked.

"Nah, I actually came here with Altinia. My name's Adian. Last night while you were sleeping I was able to heal those slashes across your back."

"Oh, thanks. I had completely forgotten about that. So you're a dimensional too then," Zack said remembering how Cody could also heal injuries with his power over time.

"Yeah, both my brother and I are. Altinia had us come when she saw how many people were hurt. I'm really exhausted after healing so many though. I feel like I could fall asleep any second.

"Is that why you put ice-cream on hash browns?" Zack said pointing at his new friend's strange food.

"Actually it's really good, you should try it sometime," Adian said as he took a bite out of it and seemed to enjoy it.

"I'll have to do that later," Zack replied, always up for strange edible combinations.

**1:00pm**

The many guests of the ship who were still healthy enough to travel were packed into the theater to hear the full results of the battle the night before. Moseby hated to have to give the bad news of the many deaths, but he knew it was his responsibility. He hated it even more that several of those who had fallen were some of his good friends, he was mentally a wreck, but had to stay strong for the others.

"Ladies and gentleman, thank you for coming," he said. "We all experienced a horrible tragedy yesterday. Many of our friends and loved have either perished or were gravely wounded during the attacks. Currently 64 people have died, but that number may rise. There were also another 306 injured to various degrees. While I did not know all of those who died, several of my dear friends perished. Among these were the ship's counselor Mr. Justin Blanket, the ship's captain, Alfred Montague, along with several students including Woody Fink and Holden Larose.

"It could have been worse though. I don't understand all the details, but there were those on the ship who were gifted with the power to fight off the beasts. This combined with the ship's helicopter pilot revealing that it was armed with military grade weaponry which allowed us to fend off the attack. In addition, Altinia came to aid us in battling the monsters and defeating their leader. She also brought two people with her who have the power to heal, so they have been tending to the wounded. Once we are close enough to England, we will begin bringing doctors aboard via helicopter to help the wounded, and a large medical staff is waiting for our arrival.

"Even so, we are still three days from our destination in England, and it's possible the monsters will attack again. If that happens, Altinia and those she brought with her will be our first line of defense. Don't panic, we have guards posted around the ship looking for anything suspicious, so if anything else happens, we will be ready.

"Moving on to the rest of your vacation, we have suspended most of the recreational activities on the ship due to this disaster. Our restaurants will still be open for business as usual and we will still be showing movies in here tonight. As for monetary reimbursement, we will let you know at a later date. I'm sure you understand that money is far from the top of our priority list."

Moseby stepped down from the podium, thankful he managed to stay composed for so long. He then went to his office to meet with those who helped free the ship from the monsters. He wanted answers as to why so many had died that day.

With the manager gone, various discussions filled the room. Many broke down in tears, remembering the loved ones who tragically perished less than a day ago. Those not directly affected by the tragedy did what they could to comfort those in pain. One thing was for sure for everyone on the ship, that day changed their lives forever.

**1:30pm**

After making his announcement to the ship, Moseby sat in his office with the those aboard the ship who were in the recent battles. There were the twins, Altinia, London, Bailey, Adian, Peter, along with Aaron and Heather. "Altinia, how much do you know about what is going on?" the manager asked.

"Not as much as I would like," she stated, "Perhaps telling you who I am would reveal the most. As you have seen I am an ice elemental; I was sealed along with Hakalahs by the power of the dimensional orbs many centuries ago. Hakalahs was the one behind this attack and various others."

"Yeah, David and his monsters nearly killed us in the desert," Heather said, "If it weren't for me calling Adian at the last minute, we'd probably both be dead."

The name David stood out to both the twins. After what they learned from Trey, it didn't come as too much of a surprise that David was also an enemy.

"Where else did they attack?" Cody asked pushing thoughts of David away for now; he'd make sure to ask later though.

"It seems that Hakalahs sent his generals out in three different directions to get the orbs," Peter stated, "Ryo led the assault here, David led the assault in the desert and a dark elemental named Sharale led the attack in a small country called Linchtenstamp. It appears they obtained the orbs of earth and wind without too much difficulty."

"And we have the orb of fire here," Altinia asked, as London was trying but failing to keep up with all this information. "So that leaves the orb of lightning and water. Do you know anything about them?"

Adian shook his head. "We found out that Hakalahs sent a small team of monsters to a beach to get the orb of water but we don't know where it is or if they were successful. As for the orb of lightning, we still don't know anything about that."

"What are these orbs anyway?" Zack asked.

"They give whoever has them control over one of the elements," Altinia said, "They were originally crafted by master elementals to give humans a fighting chance during the last great war of the ancients."

"The what?" Zack asked.

"It's a long story, but the final battle of the war is when Hakalahs and I were sealed. He was too strong to kill, but I was able to hold him in place long enough for the orb of reality to seal him."

"Then I released him," Zack said softly. It was starting to make sense to him. Trey had tricked him into using the orb to bring his brother back to life, which at the same time released Hakalahs from his prison.

"So you were the one who did it," Altinia said. Unlike what Zack thought though, she didn't seem angry.

"Yeah, Trey told me I could use it to bring Cody back to life. Apparently it was all a trick."

"Wait if Trey was the one who had to you do that," Altinia paused for a second, it seemed impossible, but it was the only thing that made sense. "He's betrayed us."

"Yeah, I figured that out when he told us that yesterday," Zack said with hatred filling his voice. He hated that he and his brother were just strung along like that, and that they were too foolish to stop it.

"I don't think that will be the last move Hakalahs will make though, he's getting ready for something big," Altinia said.

"But what is the question," Moseby added.

"It likely has something to do with those dragons that flew over the ship," Altinia stated. "Dragons are powerful creatures, they don't naturally exist in this world. The fact that they are here is a signal for something."

"Do you know what direction they were heading?" Cody asked.

"All I can tell you is that when I took the jet-ski from Plymouth England they were flying directly past me."

At this, the younger twin began thinking; he pulled a world map out of the cabinet behind Moseby and began plotting the points on the map. "If you said that you were coming from Plymouth and with the ship here," he said connecting the dots and seeing where the line went. "If they keep going on that path, they will head straight for London."

"Huh?" the heiress asked.

"Not you, the city," Zack said.

"Oh okay," she said, going back to being confused.

"If we're right, then we better alert the British military," Moseby said, "They won't have much time to mount a defense."

"In that case, can I ask you something?" Altinia said looking to the various teens who nodded in response. "We have been given incredible powers, so would you be willing to fight alongside the military here to stop Hakalahs?"

A heavy silence fell over the group. They had all been involved in battles before, but nothing like a full-scale military battle. After all, they were still kids, war was something meant for grownups. However, Zack was the first to respond.

"After seeing what they did here, I can't let them hurt anyone else. Besides, I love 'Call of Duty,' so this will just be like that," he said with a laugh.

"I have to agree with my brother. Something terrible is going to happen, and we have the power to stop it, so I'm in."

"I've always wanted to be a hero," Aaron said, "Cody's right too, we have the power to make a difference, so it would be a waste not to do something."

"And I can't just let my brother run off by himself, after all who will keep him from doing something idiotic like killing himself?"

"What about you London?" Zack asked.

"Um, no offence, but I'd rather not have to fight any more of those hideous monsters. It'll take me weeks to get their gross blood out from under my finger nails," the heiress stated.

"Come on London, you were given that orb for a reason, you have to use its power for good," Bailey said.

"How about you take it instead?" London said removing the necklace and shoving it in the farm girl's hand.

"After what Ryo did to me, I'd love to give him a few flaming kicks down low," Bailey said.

"Very well then, you are the new wielder of the orb of fire," Altinia announced, "We may be of different elements, but I can still teach you the basics of how to use it.

"Guys look!" Peter said pointing to the muted TV above Moseby's chair. On the screen, they showed a vast city with several buildings destroyed. It also showed a person with black wings that looked shockingly similar to Mosby's, causing everyone to look at him.

"That's impossible," Moseby stated, "A sole Nightwing would never strike another world like that."

Altinia studied the scene for a moment until the identity of the Nightwing became clear. "That's Hakalahs!"

**Malibu California 1:05pm**

Hakalahs made his way out into the streets while the museum and its occupants burned behind him. He had hoped for a little more fun with the guards, but he wasn't surprised that's all the power humans could muster.

"That's as far as you go," a voice called out. Hakalahs saw before him a man who had a sword drawn.

"And just who might you be?" Hakalahs asked, amused that someone could be so confident after what they just saw.

"My name is Christopher, but those lucky enough to live after meeting me call me 'The Hurricane.'"

Hakalahs was amused at how brave this enemy was; most mortals would flee in terror. He decided it would be best to have a little bit if fun with this one. "I'll tell you what," Hakalahs said with a slight chuckle, "I'll give you the first strike." A sword appeared in his hand as he waited for his opponent to make his move.

"You seem awfully calm for someone who just committed suicide," Chris said before charging at Hakalahs.

The ancient wasn't sure exactly how strong this foe would be, so he began tapping into his powers to accelerate his body, that way if he had underestimated his foe he'd still have the advantage. He eyes locked onto the swordsman's movements, until Chris vanished from in front of him. Panicked, Hakalahs accelerated his body to its limits instantly seeing the danger. Even in this heightened state of awareness, he barely had time to block the blade that nearly chopped his head off.

Hakalahs tried to counter that strike, but Chris disappeared again. Looking around, the ancient saw a silver blur coming from behind him so he jumped back to dodge. He was too slow though, and the sword had already sliced a large gash in his arm.

"Impossible," Hakalahs whispered seeing the blood running down his sleeve. He knew this battle wouldn't be easy to win, so he jumped into the air and sprouted large black wings. He continued ascending until he was nearly twenty feet in the air, far enough away so that he'd be safe from this stranger's blade. Holding out his hand, he formed a mighty sphere of fire in his hand and launched it at the swordsman.

A second later, the fireball collided into the ground incinerating anything within its path. "Not bad, but not something I couldn't easily handle." Hakalahs turned to his side to see the source of the voice jumping off the side of the building and straight at him. Their swords clashed again, and Chris used the momentum to propel him further in the air where he slashed down at Hakalahs with enough force to send him careening into the ground.

With chunks of road flying through the air, Hakalahs looked up seeing the swordsman coming down after him, so he jumped back to avoid the incoming attack. Even after landing, Chris didn't let up his attack, charging at Hakalahs once again. The ancient still had a few tricks up his sleeve though.

Focusing on the earth below Chris' feet, he commanded several spheres of earth to launch up at the swordsman. Chris was unfazed though. He used his blade to slice through the pillars, and continued his attack flawlessly.

Hakalahs continued backing up trying to keep enough distance between them to strike. He knew that this swordsman could easily match his speed and far surpassed his ability with the blade, so he'd have to strike him from afar. Harnessing power from the orb of lighting he had recently acquired, he fired innumerable blasts of electricity at the swordsman.

Chris merely smiled though as he either dodged the many attacks or absorbed them with his blade. "That was quite foolish of you," Chris laughed, "Now the metal of my blade is coursing with your own lighting. Why don't you have a taste of it?" The swordsman swung his blade down, releasing the lightning from the sword and propelling it in a giant wave at Hakalahs.

The ancient was surprised by such an attack, but he wouldn't' allow his foe to see it. Instead, he held out his palms and deflected the lighting, sending it into two blasts to the sides of him, creating giant holes in any buildings unfortunate enough to be in his way. That's when he thought of a way to take down this annoying foe.

Hakalahs fired several more blasts of lighting at Chris, who just absorbed them with his blade again, just as he thought he would do. Harnessing both his own and the power of the orb, Hakalahs focused on the lighting coursing through his foe's blade. He then had it emerge from the metal, striking Chris with many bolts of lightning.

The swordsman dropped his blade, giving Hakalahs the opening he needed. The ancient charged at his foe, knocking Chris's blade away before he could counter attack. Hakalahs swung his blade forcing Chris to jump back, and then followed the attack with a wave of fire that not even the skilled swordsman could dodge.

Chris fell to the ground, the burns from both the fire and lightning filling his body with excruciating pain. He rolled out of the way of his foe's sword aimed at his heart, before jumping back to his feet. "You win this round," he admitted before he started running from his mighty foe.

Not willing to let his enemy just walk away like that, Hakalahs chased after him. The swordsman rounded a corner, but as the ancient turned to follow him, Chris vanished.

"Impossible," Hakalahs said, gazing around for any trace of his enemy. The only way someone could move that fast or disappear like that was a dimensional, but Hakalahs would have sensed the bending in the space-time continuum if that was the case. It was then that Hakalahs saw he would have a much harder fight on his hands than he originally thought. _'So, they've decided to get involved sooner than I thought. This could be interesting.'_

**A/N: So now you've seen what Hakalahs can do in battle, but who is this mysterious stranger that was able to match his power, at least for a time. Chris is based on my friend and fellow awesome author TheHurricane13, so go read his stories too, and as always, please review since reviews make me happy!**


	11. Chapter 11: Blackened Skies

The pendulum swings back. The story barreling toward the future will stop for an instant so that we may peer into the past. Centuries go by; the past is forgotten, at least for a time. However, we must understand the past to understand the future.

_My brother had a book he would hold with pride  
A little red cover with a broken spine  
On the back he hand wrote a quote inside  
"When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die"_

_Hands Held High, Linkin Park_

**Chapter 11: Blackened Skies**

**June 9th ****532 AD**

The star lit skies danced over head as the young dimensional gazed out into the endless fields before him. A warm summer's breeze blew across his hair. A howl of wolf echoed in the distance. At this moment, in this place, one would think that the world was truly at peace.

However, that was far from the truth. His heart pounding in his chest told him otherwise. The smoke from the fire many miles away rose up into the black sky above. He took a breath trying to calm his nerves, but it was to no avail. War was coming and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Are you okay Trey?"

He glanced behind him and saw his little brother walking toward him. "Clay, what are you doing out here?" he asked as the younger dimensional sat down beside him.

"Well you just disappeared after dinner and I wondered where you had gone to. It's not like you to just run off like that, especially with something so important coming up."

"I just have a lot on my mind."

"I know," Clay said resting his head in his hands, "Remember when we dreamed of becoming soldiers and being famous. We thought it would be so cool to fight side by side, because as long as we were together no one could beat us."

"We never imagined that we'd be forced into a war though."

"Even so, it's still true."

"What is?"

"As long as we're together, no one can beat us." Clay said looking up at his brother with a smile.

The older dimension smiled slightly at his brother's innocence. They were only two years apart, and yet Clay always seemed to be an idealist. That was one thing Trey always admired about his brother, but there were times where hope alone wouldn't be enough. "Clay, can you do something for me?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Stay out of the fight tomorrow."

"But why?" the younger one said jumping to his feet.

"It's going to be dangerous, I might not be able to protect you," Trey admitted with a sigh.

"So you just want me to stay back because things might be a little tough. I'm not just the kid brother you feel you always have to keep an eye on. I'm 16 years old; I can protect myself."

"Still, I couldn't forgive myself if something happened to you."

"Then I'll just have to make sure I don't let anything happen to me. It's can't be that hard," Clay replied with the smile that could melt his brother's heart. No matter how hard Trey resisted he couldn't resist the look his brother had mastered.

"Promise me that you'll retreat if things get too bad though. Being a hero isn't worth giving up your life. Stay alive so you can be around to enjoy it."

"Such a worrier," Clay said as he gazed up at the stars about them. "I won't die; I have to stay around to keep bugging you after all."

"That's the little bro I love," Trey said before running his hand through his brother's hair, "We better head back to camp though or they'll wonder where you went too."

"Right," Clay said nodding before following him back to the camp.

…

"Are they ready?" Altinia asked eagerly gazing at the ten orbs set on the table

"Yes, the five orbs of the elements and five orbs of dimensions are ready," the elder explained patently. While he cared about the queen and was eager to help, she could sometimes get ahead of herself. "The orbs of the elementals were crafted to give non ancients their powers, however the dimensional orbs can only be used by dimensionals," he said. Elder Lehran was one of the advisors to the king and had been since the two nations were unified. He was a mighty dimensional, but due to his age, he rarely participated in battles any more.

"Won't that make the dimensional orbs useless?"

"Not at all. The power to manipulate the dimensions was far too dangerous to be given out in the middle of a battle. Instead the other elders were able to grant new powers via the orbs to dimensionals. With the orbs of thoughts and memories, they can manipulate the mind of the enemy and the orbs of the future and sights can grant us an incredible advantage."

"Didn't you say there were five though?"

"Yes, the last one is the most powerful, the orb of life. It has the power to either destroy or resurrect life."

"So you're planning to use it to destroy Hakalahs then," Altinia said.

"Exactly," the elder replied, "Hakalahs' power is too much for us to match directly, but if we can take him down with this, the army will fall apart."

"So we can end the war before it escalates with a minimum of casualties," Altinia knew this could turn into a horrible war, but with any luck they'd be able to end it quickly to minimize the bloodshed."

"However, I'll need to get close enough to him to use the orb. It can't be used across a large distance, and takes several minutes to focus its power on a target."

"That could be a problem with such a large army."

"However, I have been able to use the orbs of sight and future to get a glimpse of Hakalahs' forces. It seems he plans to have his army charge forward and crush us while he will stay toward the rear of his army overseeing our destruction. So if we can attack him from behind."

"He's making it too easy for us," Altinia said with a smirk. "We'll have Aang command the defenses here using the orbs of the elements, and then have us and a small force sneak to the rear of the army where we can take down Hakalahs."

"And I can teleport us to the rear of his army, but other than us, I can only take two people."

"Clay and Trey will be our best bets then. They can take down any guards while I keep Hakalahs in place.

After finalizing the battle plans, everything was set for the battle tomorrow. If all went as planned, the war would be over in less than a day.

…

After a restless night for all, the preparations were set for the battle. With Lehran's help, Altinia and the dimensionals teleported to the rear of Hakalahs' army. Just as they thought, Hakalahs was standing at the rear of the army watching the ancients engage the humans. Altinia hated that so many would die here, but running was not an option.

The ice elemental jumped into the fray, firing two arrows with perfect aim which went through the solders' chests ending their lives instantly. Hakalahs turned after seeing this attack and launched several jets of fire at her, but she jumped back throwing up walls of ice to block the attack. "You really thought a surprise attack like that would work?" he scoffed.

"I didn't come here to lose," she said while releasing several more arrows in the king's direction. However, he had the speed of the dimensionals behind him so he easily dodged them before running up to Altinia with his sword drawn. As he swung down at her, he raised her arrow to block the attack before sending him flying with a kick planted firmly into his chest. She ran at him and with her so close, he didn't even have time to dodge the next arrow which struck him in the stomach.

It would take far more than that to beat him though. He sent up a wall of earth deflecting the other arrows flying at him before yanking the arrow out of his gut. His blood splashed along the ground, but he harnessed his power of time to close the wound right as Altinia jumped over the wall of earth and fired several more arrows at him. However, he effortlessly deflected them with a gust of wind. Altinia was quite a pest, but he supposed that was to be expected from the former queen.

Altinia looked up at Lehran who held the orb of life. The orb was glowing a faint blue, so she knew the end was coming for her husband. All she had to do was keep him distracted until then.

Hakalahs charged at her again, shooting massive bolts of lightning in her direction, which she raised another ice shield to block, however it shattered, and the mighty bolts struck her sending her to the ground. Running over to her, he pulled his blade back and prepared to end her. However looking into her face he saw a smile and noticed her eyes were gazing past him. Before slicing his blade across her neck, Hakalahs looked behind him and it then occurred to him what was going on. He knew she wasn't foolish enough to think she could beat him. She had no intention to; it was all a distraction.

He quickly forgot about the person on the ground and harnessed the fullest extent of his speed to charge at the elder dimensional. Hakalahs wasn't exactly sure of the danger, but knew they planned on ending him with it. As he prepared to slash his sword across his former advisor, the sound of metal on metal sent him back. "We won't let you win," Clay said holding his blade firmly against Hakalahs' with Trey right beside him.

"Traitorous swine," the king hissed. A quick glance around the battle field revealed that all of Hakalahs' guards had been eliminated, no doubt thanks to the brothers. Hakalahs knew that Trey was famous for being a master at the acceleration technique so he'd have to deal with these pests before he could take care of Lehran.

The two swordsmen ran at Hakalahs, one on each side of him. The king had to push his body to the limit to deflect the steel coming at him from all directions. Even at his maximum speed, several attacks got past his blade filing his arms and legs with slashes. His blood began pouring out coating the ground in a crimson puddle, but he simply ignored the pain. He sent fire out in all directions, forcing the two dimensionals to jump back.

Hakalahs smiled as he realized their weakness. While they might be immune to his dimensional powers, they had nothing to counter his mastery of the elements. He held out his hands, one coursing with fire and the other with lightning and sent it straight at Lerhan. However, the attacks vanished right as they were about to connect with the elder. "I suggest that you don't underestimate me because of my age." Lightning and fire descended from the sky striking Hakalahs and sending him to the ground.

The many burns scorched his body, but he rose once again. A faint blue light covered all the wounds and returned them to normal. "Fine, I guess I'll just take you down one at a time."

The dimensional brothers stood once again in Hakalahs' way, their swords drawn ready for another round with the king. Hakalahs ran at them, again, not only calling on his power of time but also his power over the wind to push his body faster. His blade clashed with Trey, sending the older one to the ground for a brief second. Not to leave his brother open like that, Clay swung his blade at Hakalahs hoping to distract him long enough for his brother to get back to his feet. Just as Hakalahs planned.

He parried the attack with his blade in his right hand and summoned a blade of earth in his left. Swinging both of the blades to the fullest extent of his speed, Clay couldn't keep up and he found himself knocked to the ground. Just as Trey returned to his feet, Hakalahs took advantage of Clay's vulnerability. He shot a massive burst of flame at the young dimensional which he had no chance to dodge.

Trey looked on in horror as he saw his younger brother cremated alive. He lost his grip on his sword and ran over to his best friend, trying to undo the damage that had been done, but it was useless. His life had already left the body once Trey got there.

"That's what traitors like you deserve." While Hakalahs wanted to punish Trey in the same way he wasn't a threat at the moment, and the orb Lehran held had continued to glow brighter, and he had to take care of that before anything else. The king sprinted at Lehran and struck his sword into the elder's chest before he could even feel the pain. "It's over."

"For you," the elder said with his last breath. The orb he carried exploded into an array of blue sparks which surrounded them in a giant sphere of blue light. Hakalahs looked on in awe as he felt his body being torn apart by the dimensions. He wouldn't let it just take him; instead he focused the fullest extent of his dimensional powers to block the orbs attack. He began running from the orb, knowing that if he could get away from it, he would be safe.

However, a pillar of ice fell from the sky knocking him back. Altinia fired several more arrows at him, impaling him in his chest which began encasing him in ice. She ran into the middle of the sphere with him and tapped into her powers of ice to fully engulf both of them. Even if she died along with him, she'd make sure to end his reign of terror.

Hakalahs wouldn't just succumb to death though, he tried melting the ice with his power of fire and water, but it was a slow process. Every second it became harder to prevent the orb from tearing him apart.

Trey looked up from his brother's body and was shocked by the sight of the sphere of temporal energy. Even more so by the fact that Hakalahs could withstand something like that. He saw Altinia struggling to maintain her body as well and knew something had to be done. If Hakalahs could get away from their last resort, they wouldn't have a chance to win.

Trey rose and ran over to the sphere and tried concentrating on the power of the orb, thinking maybe he could strengthen it or something. However, its powers were far too much for him to control. Instead, he thought of another idea, if he could somehow redirect its powers, he might be able to win. He felt it trying to tear the inhabitants to shreds; Hakalahs' powers the only thing preventing it from superseding. Trey could use this to his advantage. He mentally latched onto the orb with his powers and began reversing its outflow of power. Instead of expanding space, it began contracting it. The sphere began shrinking rapidly, taking its occupants with it. Within a matter of seconds, the sphere was gone along with any signs of Altinia or Hakalahs.

He wasn't sure exactly how it worked, but saw it was finally over. He was the only one of their group still alive; he looked out in the distance at the raging battle. With all the fires in the distance, he guessed things were going badly for the humans. Even with Hakalahs gone, any sign of hope quickly faded. Something had to happen to turn the tide of the battle; otherwise all the sacrifices would be in vain.

A giant ball of light descended from the sky, colliding into the warring groups. Trey's jaw nearly dropped at seeing something like that. He had heard rumors of elementals of light and darkness, but had never actually seen one. Had a light elemental appeared in the mist of the fight, and if so, what side was he on?

**A/N:**I know you probably wanted to see more of Zack and Cody's adventures, but for a story like this I felt I needed to show some of the back story and seeing the battles would be better than just having Altinia explain it. I planned on having four chapters of history, with this being the last one, but I didn't really like the first two, and so they're going up as alt chapters. The introduction at the beginning was partly taken from the anime Bleach when they used a similar technique to explain the back story. A few surprises next chapter which is almost finished so it won't be too long. Thanks for reading and please review. Also thanks to WoundedHearts for betaing.


	12. Chapter 12: Piercing Light

**A/N: **Another chapter of history, but this is the last one. Thanks to Woundedhearts for betaing.

"_When darkness turns to light__  
__It ends tonight,__  
__It ends tonight.__  
__Just a little insight won't make this right__  
__It's too late to fight__  
__It ends tonight,__  
__It ends tonight."_

_It ends tonight, All American Rejects_

**Chapter 12: Piercing Light**

**June 9****th**** 532 AD**

"Is everything set?" Aang asked his advisor as he gazed out over the vast plains. He sighed wearily; everything would have to go perfectly if they were to have any hope of winning this battle. Altinia had left him in charge of the defenses, since he was one of the strongest elementals that had chosen to go against Hakalahs. Even so, he doubted his power would be enough alone to stop the massive assault.

"Yes sir, the orbs of the elements have been distributed amongst the top warriors to aid in our defense. The archers have taken their positions among the city walls awaiting the targets to get into range." They'd have to rely on anything they could to turn the tides of the battle, and being on the defensive gave them that opportunity.

"Good," Aang replied looking out at the specks along the ground in the distance. He knew the battle was approaching. The armies' numbers were about equal, but with the enemy comprised of ancients, he knew a victory would be nearly impossible. Still, they hadn't come this far just to lose. "How long until they are here?" he asked his advisor.

"I'd guess about an hour. Altinia and her force left recently so they will strike as the main army engages them. If we can just hold on until Hakalahs falls, we should be able to win."

"I just hope it will work." Sweat poured down his face, caused by a combination of it being one of the hottest days of the year and the stress from the coming fight.

With final preparations concluding, that hour seemed to pass like lightning. Aang took his position at the front of the army with many swordsmen behind him. The archers in the city walls would give them cover, while the few ancients that had gone against Hakalahs would flank the incoming force adding to the chaos of the battle. Those holding the orbs of the elements would be near the front of the army helping to deflect the enemies' attacks. They'd need any advantage they could get if they wanted to win. "Don't charge until you see the archers fire their first round," Aang instructed.

The black armor of the ancients came closer and each warrior gripped their weapon tighter. Several jets of fire were launched at the army signaling the start of the battle, but Aang shot forth a gust of wind to blow the blaze away with the help of the orb of fire's wielder. A vast multitude of arrows flew down from the sky sticking many of ancients, however it was but a small dent in their innumerable forces.

Aang ran forward along with the first line of swordsman and sliced through the enemy army with a powerful gust of wind blowing many of them to the side. However, the enemy elementals quickly countered with a barrage of fire and lightning. Aang jumped into the air to dodge the attack, using the wind to propel him higher. However, he was continually targeted by more blasts of fire and lightning along with another wind elementals trying to knock him out of the air.

Looking down at the ground, Aang cringed as he saw the ancients pounding away furiously at his army. The dimensions used their speed and teleportation to get around their defenses while the elementals' attacks could not be stopped. Thousand of arrows endlessly pelted the ancients but there seemed to be no stopping their massive numbers. A mighty bolt of lightning shot through the air and collided into the top of the city walls, blowing it away along with the archers perched atop it.

Aang saw the elemental that shot the bolt of lightning, and from his power, he guessed that was the leader. The wind elemental charged at the lightning elemental and sent a mighty blast of wind at him, which blew him into the wall.

Aang flew down to get closer to him, and when he did, he was shocked to see the identity of the enemy commander. "Ken!" he exclaimed.

"It's been a while hasn't it," Ken responded brushing the rock off his armor and gathering lightning in his hand. "You should leave while you still have a chance. I'll pretend I never saw you here."

"I can't do that and just let all these people down."

"In that case I have no choice but to stop you," Ken said as a tear escaped his eye. He hated having to fight an old friend like this, but he couldn't let his feelings get in the way of his duty. Aang took to the air again to avoid the lightning that scorched the ground where he stood a second earlier. The wind elemental flew down to get close enough to launch another attack, but Ken responded by blasting him with a blast of lighting. Aang couldn't dodge it in time and feel to the ground. "I'm sorry," Ken said softly before returning to the battle.

The army of ancients made their way through the city walls after nearly eliminating the army and began burning the city down, a sign to warn anyone else who would dare oppose them. Aang struggled back to his feet. He was in immense pain, and knew he couldn't fight and with the fire consuming the city, he knew they had lost. The foolishness of their plan seemed all too obvious now; they were clearly outmatched, and even if the unstoppable Hakalahs had been killed, it was still a hopeless battle.

As Aang was about to let his injuries take him into unconsciousness, a blinding light descended from the heavens. The brightness nearly blinded him, and he wondered what could cause something that powerful. "A light elemental?" he asked himself, wondering if they had used that to wipe out the town. However, once the light faded, the town was still in the same condition. Perhaps a light elemental had come to save the town?

He struggled to get up, but as he did, he noticed the wounds from the battle had begun to heal. As he looked up trying to understand this strange situation, it began snowing. This was impossible. It was summer, and one of the hottest days of the year. Not even an ice elemental could change the weather like this.

"What's going on?" he asked no one in particular. Looking around the city, he saw the snow blanketing the fires putting them out, along with several new soldiers who were taking on legions of ancients and winning. One appeared to be a swordsman, but he moved with such speed and skill that not even the dimensionals could keep up with his blade. It was as if they were frozen and this stranger was the one with the powers over time.

Near him stood another man with short brown hair who also carried a sword. Unlike the first stranger though, this one appeared to be an elemental, with his variety of different attacks. The earth cracked around him and lava sprung up devouring his foes. While more enemies came at him, the wind around him spun in a cyclone tearing those unfortunate warriors to shreds. More continued to charge at him though, but this stranger merely smirked as a giant fireball fell from the sky devouring them. Aang knew that it was possible for someone to wield multiple elements, but this destructive power was amazing, in less than a minute, he had killed no less than a hundred enemies.

In front of these swordsmen stood two heavily armored warriors. One was covered in golden armor while the other was pure white. These two battle through the enemies firing lances of blinding light into the enemies. The one in gold seemed to use his light to block the incoming fireballs and other attacks while the one in white launched a destructive series of attacks that destroyed any enemy they came in contact with.

Above them flew a boy with long white hair. He had wings and a tail like a dragon, but they were made of pure ice. From his sword, he shot lances of ice that tore through the opponents reducing them to nothing. Aang stood in awe of their powers; this was beyond anything an elemental could harness. Who and what were these people?

"Toshino," the golden knight said to the flying boy, "Are the fires taken care of?"

"Yes Truth Seeker, my snow would soon get rid of all of them soon along with any others that may arise."

"Good," the Truth Seeker replied. "Let's end this battle."

"Who are you?" Aang said running up to the Truth Seeker.

"We have come to help," the stranger replied, "Hakalahs' power has grown too dangerous to just let run loose. We are the Guardians of Truth and have come to set things right. I am the Truth Seeker, Kulmanari, the leader of the Guardians. Stay back and tend to your wounded while we finish this." Aang could only nod in response. "Ryan, Kensei, Christopher, Toshino, let's push them back," Kulmanari ordered.

The enemy army was still innumerable and continued making their way into the city. The two light warriors stood at the front of the gates with their allies behind him. "Now Toshino!" Kulmanari said to the boy flying above them.

The white haired lad gripped his blade and raised it into the air calling upon many pillars of ice to descend from the sky and strike the enemy army. The elementals tried to counter the mighty attack with their control of water and ice along with melting the attack with fire, but to no avail. Those who managed to get past the ice tried striking down the mysterious five, but the agile swordsman cut them down along with the magic swordsman calling on lightning to fry anyone that got close. Aang was amazed at how powerful these strangers were. Ancients were renowned for their incredible strength, but now they were being crushed like bugs.

Ken saw his army was falling apart and knew he had to do something. He ran forward, to avoid the lances of light cutting through his forces until he reached these strangers. Gathering lightning in his hand, he fired it at the White Knight. However, the Guardian deflected it with a burst of light before running his blade through the elemental. "A mere elemental doesn't stand a chance against us."

Ken clutched his side the sword had just been slice through. "Who are you people?" he asked faintly.

"We are the ones sent to maintain balance. Those who have abused the gift of the elements must be eliminated." The knight pulled his blade back ready to deliver the final blow.

"Don't," the Truth Seeker said, placing his hand on his comrade's shoulder. "He shall be spared."

He merely nodded and allowed Ken to live before returning to the fight. The light warriors continued to battle the ancients. No one could stand up to the power of the five; any attacks were deflected by the light and between the assaults of steal, light, and ice, the army of ancients were quickly slain.

…

Trey looked out as the blinding light was replaced by snow. The city was no longer engulfed in flame, but in a blanket of snow. This was impossible, but he could not deny the sight before his eyes. While the battle had taken its toll on him, he knew he had to make it back to the city to give them the news of Hakalahs' demise. The war would be over soon, and never again would Hakalahs try wiping out mankind.

…

**February 10****th**** 2010**

"Hakalahs is back, and is much stronger than before. I underestimated him and barely escaped with my life." Chris looked down in shame. He couldn't believe he had been defeated like that. He knew his opponent was strong, but never thought he could actually lose.

"Our scouts have indicated he has been raising an army that could not only threaten his world, but many others as well," Kensei explained."As Guardians, it is our responsibility to restore balance and stop him before he grows too powerful." The Guardians all nodded in response. "Let's roll."

A portal opened up and the eight of them stepped through it. It was time to remind an old foe of the power the Guardians possessed.

* * *

**A/N: **And next chapter we get back to the twins to bring everything together, which will lead to one of the largest battles I've ever written.

Many of the ocs from this chapter are based on characters elsewere, Kulmanari and Ryan from Kulmanari's Chaos series (awesome stories btw) Toshino from the anime Bleach, though you don't need to know anything about that for this story, Aang is taken from the anime Avatar the Last Airbender and Ken is based off my fellow author, Man of Faith.


	13. Chapter 13:New friendship and old pranks

A/N: And finally a chapter without much violence in it. This is mostly just a filler/transition chapter and is also used to show some characteristics of my ocs since I feel like I might have introduced them too fast to keep up.

'_When you're the best of friends  
__Sharing all that you discover  
__When that moment has passed, will that friendship last?  
__Who can say if there's a way?  
__Oh I hope . . . I hope it never ends  
__'Cause you're the best of friends'_

_Best Friends, Pearl Bailey _

**Chapter 13: New friendships and old pranks.**

February 9th 6:30pm

The evening sunlight engulfed the ship in a serene peace as Bailey stood at the basketball courts, waiting for her teacher to arrive, the orb around her neck bouncing against her skin as a gust of wind blew by. Altinia had offered to train Bailey on how to wield the orb of fire in order to prepare her for the upcoming battles. While the orb itself offered her tremendous strength, those unfamiliar with the powers could easily be overwhelmed and end up hurting themselves or those they were trying to protect. The two had taken over the ship's basketball courts, finding its openness the perfect place to practice.

"Are you ready to begin?" Altinia asked walking up to Bailey as the farm girl took a nervous breath. After everything she had seen the past few days, she was nervous at wielding such great power, but knew she had to do everything she could to stop Ryo and those monsters from hurting anyone else.

"Okay."

"Hold out your hand and close your eyes," Altinia instructed, and Bailey did. "Now, focus your mind on the orb and will its power to your palm."

Bailey took several breaths, trying to clear her mind of all distraction. She focused all her thoughts on the orb around her neck, picturing the redness glowing brighter and brighter in her mind. It was as if she was surrounded by fire and it was calling out to her.

"Now grab onto the fire," Altinia instructed.

Still in the world of her thoughts, she reached out for the fire and it bent itself to her will, wrapping its embers around her arm. The flames burrowed their way into her skin, filling her with a warm sensation, but unlike the pain that she would normally expect, they gave her a welcoming sensation, as if the orb was now a part of her. "This is incredible."

"Open your eyes."

Bailey did, still feeling the fire inside of her even though there was no visual difference.

"Now force the fire through your hands."

She wasn't exactly sure how it worked, but she felt the fire crawling beneath her skin and tried forcing it to move, and found it was surpassingly easy to control. It was as if she was the wind guiding a kite through the sky, with the fire flowing through her body with a mere thought. Focusing the fire into her hand, she felt her body acting as sort of wall keeping the flames within. Pushing the fire with all her will, it began breaking through her body and engulfed her hand in a small flame. "So this is what it's like to be an elemental."

"The basics at least."

"Show me more?" Bailey asked, enthralled by the flame she held within her hand.

"Of course." Now that Bailey could form fire, Altinia could begin showing her how to use the power for battle. While there were clear differences between fighting with fire and ice, the basics were the same, and Altinia had trained several fire elementals in the past giving her enough knowledge to get Bailey ready for the coming war.

…

Zack sat in his room, bored that he had nothing to do. Normally he could go to the game room with Woody or play some Xbox with the person he thought was Bailey, but now none of those were possible. He wanted to do something fun with Cody, but he was nowhere to be found. He laid back on his bed, strangely amused by the pattern in the ceiling. He was soon broken out of his exciting trance by his brother coming in their room. "What have you been up to bro?"

"Just hanging out with Bailey since she doesn't really know anyone."

At this, Zack thought it was time to test his theory. "Cody, I noticed you and that girl Bailey have been hanging out a lot lately. Is there something you would like to share with your older, wiser brother?"

"What do you mean?" Cody asked, his face turning a slight shade of pink.

"You like her, don't you?"

"Not really," he said slowly stepping back.

"Then why is your face turning a bright shade of red?" Zack asked, knowing his brother couldn't escape this one.

"Okay, maybe I do like her, but I can't ask her out in the middle of a war. I mean, where in the world would I take her for a first date, to see the pretty colors a city the dragons set on fire?"

"I don't know, that could be really romantic," Zack said, thinking of asking that new girl Maya out once they were sure their lives weren't in danger.

"If you say so," Cody said shaking his head.

"Let's go find her, and then you can ask her to dinner tonight," Zack said dragging his brother out of the room before he could object.

…

The twins were on the sky deck searching for Bailey with Cody coming up with a thousand logical reasons why now was not the time for romance and Zack counting with slightly illogical reasons of why it was. However, their argument was soon cut off by a certain brown haired teen walking along the sky deck mumbling something about revenge while being completely soaked.

"Wasn't that one of the elementals we talked to yesterday?" Zack asked trying to remember his name. With all the chaos going on recently he was lucky to remember his own name.

"What happened, Aaron?" Cody asked; glad to see that Zack found a distraction so he'd stop pressuring him to ask out Bailey.

The teen turned to face the twins, the water dripping from his hair and clothes covering the ground below. "Well my loving sister told me that she thought it would be relaxing to watch the sunset over the ocean. She didn't tell me that she planned on using her powers to bring the ocean water up and completely soak me." He tried ringing out his shirt but there was too much water for that to do any good.

The twins couldn't help but laugh at the elemental's pain. "That gives me some ideas," Zack said as thoughts to torment Cody filled his mind.

"Well have fun with that, I'm going to dry off."

"Want us to help you come up with ideas for revenge?" Zack eagerly offered.

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea," Cody said before Zack got them into trouble.

"Don't worry Codester, it will be fun. Imagine what we can do with her if we combine our powers together," Zack said, a wild grin spreading across his face.

"I don't know," Aaron nervously replied. While he wanted to teach his sister a lesson, he wasn't sure if he wanted other people to get involved too. He was afraid that things could end up going too far. It would probably be best to just forget it and move on, and not stoop to her childish level.

"Come on, I'm sure this isn't the first time she's done something like that, so it's your duty as a big brother to teach her who the master of pranks is," Zack said putting his arm around Aaron. "With my creativity and Cody's logic, we'll come up with the greatest prank in the history of the world."

"I like the sound of that," Aaron said, his inner child winning out against the mature side of him that he had tried to show since he saw the gravity of the situation.

"Okay then, meet me and Cody in our room in about an hour and we'll come up with something."

"When did I agree to this?" Cody asked once Aaron had left for his own room.

"So you'd refuse to help an older brother tormented by his annoying little sister?" Zack asked, thinking of all the things Ashley had done to them. For her safety, it was a good thing there was a law against accidentally mailing your little sister to Timbuktu.

"I'll begin drawing up the blueprints."

…

After an hour of researching various pranks on the internet, Cody had come up with what he thought would be the perfect way to make sure Heather had an interesting night. They'd need to time everything perfectly, but a wicked grin grew across his face as he imagined everything coming together. Cody began outlining everything that they would need and how they'd pull it off just as there was a knock at the door.

Zack opened it saying, "Welcome to the lair of the master pranksters."

"This isn't going to hurt her is it?"

"Nah, all this stuff his harmless," Cody said, "Well at least in the long run."

"Okay, let's get to it," Aaron said, eager to make her the victim for once.

"If we're going to do this right there are some supplies we need. Zack, I need you to get one of the garbage containers they use in the kitchen. Aaron, I need you to get some really sour candy, preferably some warheads, bright blue or pink hair dye, some icy-hot cream. Bring all that stuff back up here and I'll go bake some cookies." After that, he explained how everything would need to happen for the plan to work. It wouldn't be easy to pull off, but they knew it would be worth all their hard work.

"This will be fun," Zack said to which the other two nodded.

…

8:00pm, Heather's room

"Thanks so much for bringing these Adian," she said as she hung up the clothes that moments ago sat in her bedroom closet. By the time she'd found out she'd be away from home for a long time, it was too late to do any packing. She thought she'd just have to get a new wardrobe from the ship's gift shop or stores in England, but had nearly forgotten about her friend's ability to teleport across the world in a matter of seconds.

"Not a problem, I figured you wouldn't want to wear the same thing for several days. Though your dad did ask what had happened."

"And?" she nervously asked. Ever since she and her brother had shown their dad what they could do, he had been worried about them, especially after Altinia showed up asking for their help. He had reluctantly agreed to let them go, knowing that they were growing up and had been given something extraordinary that couldn't go to waste.

"Well I left out the part about you almost dying, and he didn't panic too much. He was going to ask for more information, but decided he didn't need to worry since he couldn't do anything to protect you. He just told me to look after you for him."

"Thanks," she said embracing him in a friendly hug.

"I think I brought everything you needed, but I can go back if I forgot something," he nervously replied. Ever since meeting her two years ago, he found himself attracted to her. At first, he thought it was just her beauty, but upon becoming friends he was captivated by her wild spirit. She was a stubborn one, and while that made her prone to arguments with many teachers at school, she was never afraid to stand up for what she thought, even when she was wrong. After he and his brother were forced to leave their school a year ago, he thought he'd never see her again. Once Altinia brought them together again, his heart soared, but at the same time he knew that with a situation this grave, now wasn't the time for romance.

"No, this will be more than enough," she said with a smile before hanging up another shirt.

Their conversation was broken up by a knock on the door, which Heather went to answer. "Who is it?" she asked as she opened the door but to her surprise, no one was there. Instead, she was greeted by a trashcan filled with water pouring all over her and her room.

However, she quickly used her powers to gather it in a giant blob that hovered right above her head. She burst out of room, and saw her brother running away while laughing. "He is so dead," she said shooting out streams of water that knocked him to the ground before walking over to him with a proud smirk. "Trying to prank me back I see; admirable, but you really should know better than to use a prank involving water when I am a WATER elemental."

"No hard feelings right?" he said as he gently backed away from her.

"I wouldn't say that." She used the water now surrounding her brother to slowly lift him into the air. "Come with me," she said as she walked through the halls of the ship with her brother nervously following her against his will in the blob of water. Eventually she carried him to the lobby of the ship where she used the water to move him right on top of the Poseidon statue, gently placing its trident in the back of this pants giving him a wedgie he wouldn't' soon forget.

…

"Let's do this fast," Zack said as he and Cody ran from their hiding place in the storage closet. After getting into the room, they didn't waste any time in getting to work. Cody ran to the bathroom and replaced the necessary objects while Zack got to work with the itching power and the zombie head before he took his screwdriver out and loosened all the necessary screws.

"You get it?" Cody asked as he exited the bathroom.

"Yep, let's get out of here before she gets back."

"What's going on here?" Adian asked trying to make sense of the twins rushing around the room.

"Think he can keep a secret?" Cody asked.

"We can't take that risk," Zack said taking hold of Adian's wrist before dragging him out of the room, nearly yanking his arm off in the process

…

Heather came back to her room, content with the lesson she taught her brother, unaware of the horrors that would soon befall her. She noticed Adian was gone, but shrugged it off, figuring he just had something else to take care of. Once she went to her desk chair, she heard a knock at the door, wondering if it was Aaron back for another round. In case it was, she grabbed her water bottle off the table and unscrewed the cap.

Upon opening the door, she was relieved to only see the twins. "You guys need something?"

"Well with all this mess I decided to bake some cookies to relieve some stress, though I think I went a bit overboard," Cody said sheepishly revealing a plate piled high with hot gooey chocolate chip cookies.

At this, drool began filling Heather's mouth and she suddenly found herself extremely hungry

"I'd be glad to help you get rid of some of them," she said reaching for them, as the twins helped her. After a few moments, the plate was nearly empty, though the twins were careful to only eat the safe ones.

"You want the last one?" Cody offered Heather, and after the delicious cookies she had, she couldn't help herself from stuffing it into her mouth. However, she was soon surprised by a spicy taste building rapidly in her mouth. Her face turned a bright shade of red and sweat began covering her body, to which the twins began laughing.

After downing a bottle of water to calm the inferno in her mouth, she couldn't help but laugh too. "Aaron put you up to it, didn't he?"

"We won't deny that," Zack said with a grin.

"I admit that was a good one."

"Just tell us if you ever need some spicy cookies again," Cody said as he and his brother left the room. Once the door closed behind them, they gave each other a high five, content that she still had no idea of what awaited her.

…

Heather grabbed the TV remote and went to her chair to sit down for a little while and watch some light-hearted shows. Though once she sat down, she found herself on the floor, the pieces of her chair sitting around her in a disorganized mess. At this point, their plan made perfect sense to her. Aaron knew that the water wouldn't work and would get her to chase him, which gave the twins the opportunity to do what they wanted to her room. "Not half bad," she said to herself as she stood up. She glanced around the rest of the room, looking for any other traps. She glanced upon a small lump in her bed, so she carefully uncovered the sheets to reveal a zombie's head. "A classic trick," she said taking it and putting into her desk, thinking she could use that to get back at them later.

As she continued examining her room, a strange sensation began building in her stomach. A worried look crept across her face as she realized she had to run to the bathroom or she'd have a mess to clean up. She sprinted to the toilet and sat on it, not a moment too soon. "Free cookies, oh they will pay for this." As she began contemplating ways to get them back, another unusual sensation began building in her. It felt like she was sitting on fire, so she got up and examined the toilet seat, noticing it was strangely shiny. Upon rubbing her finger along it, she realized it had some sort of cream on it. She then noticed an empty tube of icy-hot sitting in the trashcan.

"That's a new one; I'll have to remember to use that on Aaron when we get back home." She then carefully examined everything in the bathroom, sure that they had something else planned. She made sure to wash her toothbrush thoroughly, noticing it looked like it had a strange color to it. She also checked everything in the shower, noticing that her shampoo was a strange pink color, "Almost got me on that one too," she said putting that in her desk for future pranking opportunities before going to bed, content that she had found all their other evil deeds.

…

**A/N: **And I'm going to end it there. I have another chapter almost ready for release, but I don't have time to read through it and put it up before work, so either later today or tomorrow I'll post it. Thanks to Wyntirsno and WoundedHearts for betaing. Please review!


	14. Chapter 14: Face Your Past

_'I spend these nights counting stars  
And wonder if there's hope for me out there  
Like a runaway  
Spend these nights counting stars  
Like a runaway  
And maybe I could call this home tonight'_

_Runaway, Thriving Ivory_

**Chapter 14: Face Your Past**

After another day at sea, the ship docked in England. The wounded that had not been able to be ferried by helicopter were immediately rushed off the ship and to the local hospitals. Meanwhile, the unwounded passengers were taken to local hotels until arrangements could be made for them to return home. However, before the twins could make it on the bus, they were approached by several military officers informing them that the general of the London army base wished to meet them to discuss the coming battle.

Several hours later, the twins, Aaron, Heather, Altinia, Bailey, Moseby, Adian and Peter found themselves surrounding a large table awaiting the general's arrival.

"Is he ever going to get here?" Zack complained while taking a bite of a croissant from the plate of food that was set for them.

"Remember your manners," Cody instructed, smoothing out the wrinkles in his shirt for the 13th time in the last half hour. "We don't want to get on the military's bad side.

"Yeah, I know, but I think he could at least be on time for a meeting that he called.

As if on cue, the door opened revealing a man with short black hair and wearing a military uniform decorated with various medals and accomplishments. "Sorry I'm late; I got hung up chasing the media away. Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Zachary Fair, the leader of this base. Now I understand that you've been through a lot but would you mind telling me what happened."

Moseby stepped forward and told the story reminding them of the events they wished they could forget. The general nodded politely, taking notes on a clipboard analyzing the situation and the best course of action. While he was moved by their story, he knew now was not the time to let emotions control his actions. Once Moseby was done speaking, the general let loose a heavy sigh. "That's terrible. It's one thing for soldiers to be killed in war; they signed up knowing that they wanted to give their lives for something greater, but the innocents never asked to die as heroes. Anyway, I'm sorry for getting off topic, what makes you believe they are going to attack London?"

"Well in addition to the fact that it is a large city, we saw several dragons flying overhead with a trajectory that would go over the city," Altinia added.

"And that's not all," Adian said. "We were able to do some scouting by tracking the distortion in the space-time continuum and found his base which is only 25 miles east of the city hidden in Canvey Island. We were even able to find his plan of attack."

"Impressive, what have you learned?" the general asked, intrigued by the power these few possessed.

"It appears that they plan on destroying the city mainly launching a massive land assault of monsters similar to the ones that attacked the ship. They will use dragons to attack from the sky along with a small force of their most powerful warriors teleporting here via their dimensionals' powers."

"So we'd need to counter their three forces to save the city," General Fair said resting his head in his hand trying to figure out the most efficient way of dealing with this problem. "Do you know anything about their defenses; could we take them out with a preemptive air strike?"

"Sadly Hakalahs has fortified his base with a spatial wall that will deflect any incoming attack."

"I'm quite impressed you were able to gather so much information," a new, yet familiar voice said from behind them.

The group turned to the person standing in the door way smugly leaning against the wall.

"Trey, what do you want?" Zack asked, quickly getting up from his seat.

"Oh, not much. I wanted to congratulate the spies for making their way past our shield and even subtly breaking into our base without Hakalahs detecting the distortion. I admit, it was something I'd normally overlook."

"You overlooked something right here too!" Zack yelled summoning his sword and running at Trey who countered by summoning a blade in his own hand to parry the attack.

"You're still too slow," Trey said easily pushing his speed beyond what Zack could keep up with. Even with the older twin pushing himself to his limits, Trey easily dodged every blow. Amused with the charade, Trey let Zack get close with the attacks, jumping back not a second before his head was nearly taken off.

"I won't lose to you," Zack proclaimed, however as he ran at Trey again, the black haired dimensional disappeared. Zack glanced around in confusion, but he didn't see the other dimensional striking him in the back with the blunt of his blade. He fell to the ground, but quickly got back up and ran at Trey once more. Trey decided to end this farce and slammed his foot into Zack's chest, sending him flying into the couch. "If I hadn't struck you with the blunt end of my blade, you would be dead now," Trey said lowering his weapon, "I did not come here to fight."

"Then why?" Cody asked, keeping his calm but still ready to strike if the situation called for it.

"I came to give you a chance to escape this coming battle," the dimensional said eyeing the twins.

"How so?" Cody asked. From what he had seen, he knew trusting Trey could lead to their destruction, but at the same time was curious of his offer. If anything, it would give them a look inside this dangerous foe's mind.

"As your two spies pointed out, we will destroy the city and all those in it. Come with me and I'll take you back to your home so you won't be in danger. You have my word that you'll be safe from any of our plans. I don't want to kill you but I will if you get in our way again."

"Aw, you're so kind," Zack said sarcastically, "but there is no way in hell I will run from this battle. We're going to crush you, and anyone else who thinks they can just go around killing innocents. I don't care anymore about when you helped me save Cody; I'll kill you without a second thought."

"You truly think you can stand up to our power? Ryo was the weakest of our generals and you couldn't even defeat them. All four of them will be descending upon London, not to mention the power of Lord Hakalahs himself. You don't stand a chance"

"Bring them on then," Zack said confidently pounding his fist into his palm.

"Very well," Trey said before turning to walk away.

However, as he walked away, Cody noticed a small drop of water flowing down Trey's cheek. It didn't make sense to him, did the heartless man who had been responsible for all John put them through, not to mention the many lives claimed on the ship and the battles elsewhere, actually care about them? "Why do you want to help us if you are our enemy?" he asked.

"You're not the only one who knows what it's like to lose a brother," Trey said in little more than a whisper before fading in a flash of blue light.

"I just don't get that guy," Zack said shaking his head.

"He's obviously just trying to mess with your mind," Aaron said.

"I don't think it's just that," the older twin said shaking his head, "You saw him there, if he wanted to, he could have killed me, and with his power to teleport he could have easily killed any of us in our sleep. It's just for some reason, he doesn't want to," Zack said, his hatred starting to subside in way of logically analyzing their foes strange actions.

"You think we should trust him?" Heather asked.

"I don't know," Zack said. "I mean, I hate him for dragging us along like that, and for all those people he killed, but at the same time he gave me Cody back. I know that was all part of his plan, but when I was with him it felt like I could truly trust him. Maybe he's just a really good actor, but I don't think he is pure evil."

"I think there is more that Trey isn't telling us," Altinia added. "I knew him back when he as a kid, he was always dreaming of being a hero. He wouldn't condone killing innocents like this. This isn't like him at all."

"People can change though," Aaron said.

"We can't spend a lot of time debating what his motives are at an important time like this. Now the important thing to worry about is that the city is in danger," the general said breaking the ancients out of their thoughts. "If the information you gathered is correct then we'll have to split our forces."

"I doubt normal weapons will work against Hakalahs and those he will bring with him. Our best plan would be for your army to battle the monsters traveling through the plains to get here while I lead an elite force here to battle Hakalahs," Altinia proposed.

"You have a point," General Fair said with a sigh. "I can't say I'm comfortable leaving the defense of our city up to those I barely know, but after what we've seen there isn't any other choice. We have two days until they strike so I'll order an evacuation and gather my army. I'll also leave a number of solders here, but they will be under your command. If there isn't anything else, this meeting is adjourned."

"Thank you general," Altinia said shaking his hand before they left the room.

…

The next day had the citizens of London fleeing the city that would soon be home to a destructive battle. Families had to leave everything they had, only taking with them what they could load in their cars. Children looked through the back windows of their families' cars at the only home they ever knew. Never before had so many had to leave so quickly. The military did what they could to keep it as orderly as possible, but chaos soon ensued.

Meanwhile the ancients were learning how to use the military weapons and armor. Zack held his submachine gun and fired it at the targets a hundred feet away, surprised at the force of the recoil and was blown onto his back. His aim wasn't too terrible, hitting some of the targets but also implanting a number of bullets into the wall. "Those video games make it look easy," Zack said, picking up his pride and readying to fire another round.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it soon," Cloud said, "Though you'll want to take a better stance to absorb the impact more." Major Cloud Strife had been assigned to help the group get ready for the coming battle, and decided some weapons training would be the best place to start. The major took hold of one of the guns and crouched lightly as he fired off a shot, hitting the target perfectly and still stood to continue fighting.

"I think I get it," Cody said before taking a hold of his machine gun and aiming for the targets across the room. The recoil was stronger than he thought it would be, but by taking the stance Cloud had shown him, he had been able to direct the impact into the ground allowing him to continue firing.

"Excellent work," Cloud said, impressed with the speed that Cody had been able to grasp such a powerful weapon so easily. The two continued training until they could wield the powerful guns with some comfort. Even though they weren't sure how much they would use the guns, since they couldn't use their power over time with them, it still gave them another choice to fight with if they were too worn out to draw on their powers any more. They were also trained in using smaller pistols as a last resort.

After their training session, they were on their way to the small room that had become their bedroom over the past few days. It wasn't much, just a room that foreign diplomats stayed in when they visited, but it was enough. However, they were stopped in their tracks when a fireball shot across the ground in front of them, nearly causing Cody to fall over backwards.

"Looks like I'm getting the hang of it," Bailey said with a smirk across her face walking over to the two, tossing a fireball in her hand as if it was nothing more than a baseball.

"That was you?" Cody said looking on in awe.

"Yep; pretty good right?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that made Cody wet his pants."

"Zack!" Cody screamed, wanting to make him take back that comment, but he couldn't deny it was true.

"So you guys want to go to dinner, I'm starving."

"Yeah me too," Cody said, his stomach loudly reminding him of how hungry he was.

"You two go on ahead, I'm really tired so I'm going to just hit the hay."

"You feeling okay Zack?" the younger twin asked.

"Yeah, just tired, and I'm not that hungry, so I'll just get some rest."

"Want me to bring you some food for when you wake up?"

"Sure," Zack said before walking off, ignoring the rumbling in his own stomach and hoping his twin couldn't hear him. After hearing how Cody felt about Bailey and knowing that his brother would be too scared to do anything, he decided he had to take matters into his own hands.

…

"Are you sure this is edible?" Bailey asked as they sat down at the base's cafeteria with what was supposedly grilled cheese, though it looked more like a turkey leg, or maybe chocolate pudding. They just couldn't tell.

"Well I guess if it hasn't killed them yet it must be," Cody said taking a bite of it trying to figure out what exactly it was. "I've found if you just picture that it is something in your mind and tell yourself that it's something delicious like ice-cream it will go down smoother."

Bailey tried his theory, ate the mystery food, and found it wasn't as bad as it looked. "Not bad, how'd you learn about that?"

"Well there was a while where I couldn't be picky about some of the things I ate. Anytime I saw something that could have been considered edible I ate it, and found that if I pretended it was something I enjoyed then I was normally able to keep it down."

"What happened?"

Cody sighed; he didn't want to relive the experiences of those two years, though he hadn't really talked about it with anyone but Zack and to a degree his new family. He really wanted to just forget everything that happened and move on, that was part of the reason he wanted to go to the sea school. That way he could just escape everything and start a new life, with only Zack beside him.

"Cody?"

"It's a long story."

"We have time."

Cody thought for a moment, perhaps opening up would be good for him. He guessed that was a major reason for him not being able to make friends at school. The few he had weren't any deep relationships, just people to talk to when he was bored during class.

"Okay," Cody said, finally opening up to someone about the hell he had been through since his parents' deaths.

Bailey listened attentively as he told about his time living in the orphanage for the few months with Zack, and how John and his wife Louise adopted him. He told her about Louise leaving about a month after he was adopted and all the torture John put him through after that. Bailey could hardly bare to hear the abuse he went through, knowing there wasn't anything she could do to mend the scars he had buried deep within.

"What did you do?"

"I ran away," he said somberly.

He then explained the months he spent on the streets of Chicago, the friends like Gabriel he met along the way that got him through along with the kindness of strangers. He also told her some of the stories of him having to look for food out of dumpsters to and even stealing just to have something to eat. She tried comforting him, saying that he shouldn't feel guilty because he didn't have another choice. He had heard that many times before from Zack, but even so, that didn't ease his conscious. Even now, he still hadn't gotten rid of the nightmares of the homeless all around him, starving because they couldn't eat.

Eventually he told her how he felt like he was being called to travel across the country to find Zack. All along the way he wasn't sure why, but the dreams he had kept guiding him in the right direction. Finally, they were able to communicate through the dreams. Cody still hadn't completely figured out how that worked, though he assumed it was a mix of the dimensional powers and the bond he shared with Zack.

"That's incredible," Bailey said, amazed at how the two of them had managed to find each other after so long.

"It was great to be with Zack again, but my journey was far from over."

"What else happened? Bailey was enthralled in his story, sickened that such an innocent was put through so much, but at the same time curious as to what else happened to him.

"I finally started learning the cause behind everything."

Cody told of his and Zack's journey to Florida and how they began discovering more of their powers, eventually finding Kurt and how he was shot right in front of him. He wasn't sure why, but telling someone else about the horrible experience made him feel better, like a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He wasn't alone in this anymore; he didn't have to just pretend that it never happened. True, he always had Zack if he needed someone to talk to about it, but he didn't want him to remember that they had lost their father in the horrible summer.

"After all that, I finally found the one behind everything we had been through. John, the man who adopted me was the very same person who orchestrated my parents' deaths."

Cody then told of them going after John, and even how Zack managed to learn how to fly a military grade helicopter and nearly killed him in the process. He decided not to spare any details and told her about how they met Anton, Kevin, Trey and the rest of the team who helped them to take down John, many of them losing their lives in the process.

"At least you managed to make it out okay," she said.

He responded by shaking his head. "I died in the battle with John."

"How is that possible? You're sitting right in front of me."

"I shouldn't be though, but Trey was able to help Zack find the orb of reality which he used to bring me back to life. I don't know quite how it worked, but it was able to reverse my death, but at the same time it allowed Hakalahs to return to the world. Trey and David stayed behind to fight him, or so I thought. Zack and I returned to his home and led what seemed to be just a normal life with his adoptive family." He somberly gazed around at the grey walls of the military barracks. "I never thought I'd be in a war like this again."

"You know you don't have to fight if you don't want to," she said leaning her elbows against the table and giving him a reassuring look.

"I can't just abandon those people though. During the battles against John's forces, I saw so many innocents that had been taken from their families because of him, and I can't just stand back and let Hakalahs make more victims. I know what it's like to lose everything, to know all I care about is gone."

"You aren't alone anymore either," she said, placing her hand gently on his shoulder. "You have me. You have Zack. Don't be afraid to let us take some of the burden."

"Zack told me the same thing when we were together."

"You should listen to him."

It was then that Cody remembered that he was supposed to bring Zack back some food so he ran to the food line before they closed. However, he was soon stopped by Bailey placing her arm on his shoulder. He didn't know how it happened, but he soon found himself embraced in a hug. "Remember, we're here for you," she said with a smile as she pressed their bodies together.

"I know, I won't forget." Cody smiled, and breathed easily. When he first began telling her his story, he thought for sure he'd become an emotional wreck and lose it, but instead he felt freer than he had been in a long time. It was as if a boulder had been lifted from his shoulders, and in a sense it had. He tried to bury his past deep within himself, focusing on the future, unaware of the scars that were finding their way to the surface. "Thank you."

She gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "If you ever want to talk about your past, about anything, I'm here for you."

…

Cody made his way back to his and Zack's room, a plate of hamburgers and fries in his hand. He was surprised to see the light in the room still on and upon opening the door, he saw Zack sitting up in bed watching TV in his white T-shirt and pajama pants.

"You bring the food?"

"Yeah, I can't vouch for how good it is, but it's at least edible," Cody said handing Zack the plate which the older twin began devouring. "I thought you said you weren't hungry and were going to go to bed."

"Well, I was but after watching some TV, I suddenly stopped being tired and remembered I hadn't eaten anything in a while."

Cody gave his brother a knowing look letting them both know that he saw through Zack's lie before lying down on the other bed. "Thanks bro."

"Anytime."

…

**A/N: Wow, two chapters in one day with hardly any action. I think something is wrong with me. Zachary Fair and Cloud Strife were named after characters in the video game Crisis Core. I also must apologize that my updates are going to slow down (more than normal). I head back to college tomorrow so school work will be taking up more of my time. Anyway, please review, I really appreciate all the support you've given me through this. Also thanks to Wyn and WoundedHearts for betaing.**


	15. Chapter 15: Those Nights

A/N: This is an intermission chapter before the final battle of this story takes place, set to the song 'Those Nights" by Skillet. Underlined is song lyrics and italics is flash backs.

Also, thanks to Wyntirsno for betaing this for me.

…

**Chapter 15: Those Nights**

The twins sat in silence for several moments, lost in the television show that they would probably forget at soon as it was over. While it wasn't overly entertaining, it was an escape from the grim future that knew they couldn't run from.

"You nervous?" Zack asked, the gentle silence shattered by the harsh reality.

"Yeah," Cody said with a nod. He contemplated for a second how their lives could change so much in a matter of seconds. One second they were just kids playing in the game room, the next Moseby came in telling them that their parents were killed in a car accident making them orphans. One second they were only teens who just made up after a fight, and the next they were in a fight for their lives once more.

"We'll make it through this just like all the other battles."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I can't live without you, and you can't live without me, so we just have to," Zack answered confidently.

I remember when we used to laugh about nothing at all  
It was better than going mad

_"Thinking about the old days when we'd come here?" Zack said as he saw a smile on his brother's face._

__

"Yeah, I miss the times when the biggest thing I had to worry about was you stealing my food."

_Zack smiled too. Under the golden arches, they felt like kids again. "You should still worry about it though," the older twin said as he grabbed a fry out of Cody's hand. They both laughed as they received strange glances from around the room.  
_  
**Separated but not Apart chapter 11, From Past to Present  
**  
From trying to solve all the problems we're going through

_Zack awoke to the sound of his brother crying in the bed near him. "What's wrong?"_

__

"I had a nightscare."

"Just go back to sleep," the young boy said to his brother.

"No, the monsters will come after me again." Zack walked across the room and climbed into bed with his brother.

_"Don't worry; your big brother will keep them away." Their mom had opened the door when she heard the noise. She quickly closed it when she saw Zack had everything under control.  
_  
**Separated but not Apart chapter 11, From Past to Present  
**  
Forget 'em all

_As Zack came into the room giving him a plate of food, his fears continued to grow. The older twin noticed this and sat down beside him. "What's wrong Cody?"_

__

"The orbs showed me another vision. I saw someone being tortured and it's because of me."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I don't know, but I think it might be you."

"If you aren't sure, then don't let it worry you."

"I'm scared," Cody admitted.

"Fear hasn't stopped you yet, so don't let it this time. We are so close."

"Yeah, but I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you."

"Then we won't let it happen," Zack declared, "If it is telling you that the future will have me being tortured, then we will just have to change the future."

_"Yeah, you're right." Zack's confidence had rubbed off on him, and he knew that they couldn't just give up. It might be hard, but together, they would face whatever dangers came._

**Separated but not Apart chapter 12, Into the Fire part 1  
**  
Cause on those nights we would stand and never fall  
Together we faced it all

_Side by side, the brothers fended of the small army. They constantly focused on the attacking foes, and kept a look out for anything that got past their brothers' defense. As Zack shoved his knife into the heart of his attacker, Cody saw one who had escaped his brother's attention. Seconds before a knife was driven into Zack's body, Cody kicked the foe's side, slamming him into the wall._

**Separated but not Apart, chapter 13, Into the Fire part 2  
**  
Remember when we'd  
Stay up late and we'd talk all night  
In the dark room lit by the TV light

"Still, we've never faced enemies this powerful," Cody sighed. "You saw how easily Trey beat you earlier today. How can we beat someone that strong?"

"You remember John?"

"How could I forget?" Cody asked, the mere name brining back horrible memories.

"Well he was stronger than anyone we had battled up to that point. Going into the fight, neither of us came close to being able to go head to head with him. We were able to stand up to him though, because we had each other."

"You're right," Cody admitted.

Through all the hard times in my life  
Those nights kept me alive

_"Yeah, we have to think of a way to beat him," his brother said slowly rising beside him, "But he's stronger, faster, and has developed his powers further."_

__

"True, but there is one thing we have that he doesn't."

"What?"

"Each other." As corny as that was, Cody knew it was true. No matter how strong their opponent was, they would stand beside each other whatever was thrown at them.

_"You're right, now let's take him down."_

**Separated but not Apart, chapter 23, No Retreat No Surrender  
**  
We'd listen to the radio play all night  
Didn't want to go home to another fight  
Through all the hard times in my life

_The Codester and I won't be going anywhere now. One day ago, he was alive and breathing next to me. We had faced John together. I would have never guessed that I'd be the one still alive after the battle. I thought Cody would be strong enough, and he was, until I got in the way. If I hadn't been so weak and needed saving, then he'd still be alive. If I had been stronger, Cody wouldn't have had to save me from Anton. Both of them would still be alive, but no, I was too weak! I'm such a failure; I couldn't even protect my baby brother!_

**Separated but not Apart, chapter 26, A New Hope  
**  
Those nights kept me alive

__

They were finally able to breathe easily, for the first time in many weeks. They were still worried about Trey and David, but they hoped they'd see them again. It had been a hard journey, but it was finally over.

"Thanks for saving me Zack."

_"Cody, you know I'd do anything for you. No matter what the world throws at us to separate us, we will never be apart."_

**Separated but not Apart chapter 27, Rise of the Black Phoenix  
**  
"I know, with everything we've been through, I can't see how anything can stop us," Cody said remembering all they overcame.

"Yep, all we have to do is defeat Hakalahs then we can head back home."

"You really think it will be that easy?"

"Well, I find that a general plan and making it up as we go is easier than working out the exact details. It worked for us during the summer at least."

"I guess you have a point."

I remember when we used to drive anywhere but here  
As long as we'd forget our lives

_Against his better judgment, Cody agreed and the twins walked to the vehicle that had only moments ago tried killing them. They got in, with Zack in the pilot's seat and Cody sitting nervously beside him._

__

"Uh, now what do I do?" Zack quietly said, hoping Cody didn't hear him. The many gages and various readouts meant absolutely nothing to him. He decided that the best thing to do was to push something slowly and hope they would move.

The older twin pushed forward the lever on his left and the blades began spinning. "Sweet I'm in the air," Zack said as they began rising.

"Zack, you're starting to scare me," the younger one said with his voice shaking as he began gripping his seat.

_"Don't worry, I know exactly what I'm doing," Zack said, not fooling either of them._

**Separated but not Apart, chapter 17 One Final Gift  
**  
We were so young and confused  
That we didn't know to laugh or cry

_The twins continued flying through the clouds with Cody starting to get used to Zack's enjoyment of his new toy. "Are you at least paying attention to the readouts?"_

__

"I'm not dumb enough to read while driving a helicopter."

"I mean the instruments."

"Why would I be playing my guitar at a time like this?"

"The things that tell us altitude, attitude, and velocity."

"Come again?"

The younger twin wanted to slam his head into the metal dash, but decided that receiving brain trauma would not keep them any safer. "The things that point to numbers."

"Oh those, nope not at all."

"Why not?"

_"Because, I have absolutely no idea what they mean."_

**Separated but not Apart, chapter 18, Alliances  
**  
Those nights were ours  
They will live and never die  
Together we'd stand forever

_"You're not alone this time though. Remember, if things get bad, I'll be here to protect you," Zack said placing his hand on Cody's shoulder, "I promise, he will never hurt you again."_

__

"I guess you're right," he said uneasily.

Silence filled the guest room for a moment as the twins stood there. By the light of moon coming through the window, Zack could see his brothers face, and saw the fear continuing to plague him. "Bro, he should be the one afraid of us. We can take down any foe together. You've been able to outsmart countless enemies, and that fiend will regret making a foe of you. We can do this!" he said thrusting his fist into the air.

_"Yeah, you're right we can."_

**Separated but not Apart, chapter 18, Alliances**

Remember when we'd

Stay up late and we'd talk all night  
In the dark room lit by the TV light

_"Hey Cody, you know how we can get to the coast in less than two hours?"_

__

"Why…"

"I kind of got the date wrong. The SS Tipton is leaving today, not tomorrow."

"I guess we should call our parents and see if they can get us there," I replied calmly.

_"I have a better idea," Zack said holding up what looked to be a set of car keys. I knew what he was thinking, and that it was a bad idea, but sadly, we didn't have much choice. Luckily the gps got us there right before the ship left. I can't believe how many times Hele has saved us. Needless to say though, the people on the ship were a bit surprised._

**Domino Effect, chapter 2, Come Along With Me  
**  
Through all the hard times in my life  
Those nights kept me alive

_Mr. Blanket picked up a pillow, and handed it to Zack. "Hit the banana! Bruise him!"_

__

Cody's eyes lit up at this. "Whoa, hold on a minute, don't do anything-"

He was cut off by Zack slamming the pillow into his arm. This caused Cody to retaliate by slamming his brother with the head of the banana. After slapping each other for a few seconds, Zack was able to knock Cody to the floor with the pillow, and land on top of him.

"Might I ask where you degree is from?" Cody yelled at the counselor who was encouraging the violence.

"Shut it monkey bait, it's your fault we're in this position!" Zack snapped at his brother.

"How is it my fault you can't write an essay?" Cody said as he rolled himself on top of his brother."

"It's not that I'm unable, it just wouldn't have been as good as one of yours. Nothing I ever do seems good enough. It's not always easy compared to you."

After moaning over the pain, Cody was able to sit up, shocked at his brother's words. "How do you think I feel? You've always been the athletic one, the popular one, and good with sports and girls. And when we went to school together, I was nothing but your long lost brother."

"Yeah, but it seems like everything comes so easy to you. You are able to go through school and get A's naturally, and it feels I can never be as powerful as you."

"You really feel that way?" Cody asked, now finally realizing how his brother felt all along.

"Yeah," Zack said softly. "I never knew that you felt so alone. It seemed like it never bothered you."

"At first, I thought it was just because I was the new kid, but no matter how much I tried, it felt like no one would accept me."

"I'm sorry Codes," Zack said as tears started building in his eyes, "I should have known."

"It's my fault too. I didn't want you to think I was just a loser who couldn't do anything without you."

"I'd never think that," Zack said, "I may tease you about being a nerd, but I admire that about you. You've been through so much, and nothing seems to stop you, I never stopped to think how you were truly feeling. I love you bro."

_"I love you too," Cody said as his brother helped him up. They then embraced in a gentle hug._

**Domino Effect, chapter 5, The Truth Revealed  
**  
We'd listen to the radio play all night  
Didn't want to go home to another fight

_"He's not what you think," Cody warned his brother._

__

"Yeah, I know. I could use your help kicking his butt though."

_"Count me in," the younger twin said, determined to avenge all the pain he had caused._

**Domino Effect, chapter 7, Battle of the SS Tipton II  
**  
Through all the hard times in my life  
Those night kept me alive

_The older twin's eyes flew open as they tried to make sense of the normal surroundings. "So that was only a dream," he mumbled._

__

"A nightmare?" Cody could see how the previous night's events could affect Zack.

"Not really," Zack said shrugging his shoulders as he climbed out of bed, "It was just really strange. The dream started off with me just swinging in the park, the sky was blue, and the grass was green like it should be, except there were baboons everywhere, but that didn't seem too strange, at least not at the time. Then out of nowhere, a heard of samurai cows charged at me. I was scared so I jumped in Hele, but all the controls had been replaced with cheeseburgers. I got out and just as they were about to kill me, it started raining waffles which drowned the cows. That's when you woke me up."

"Why were you mumbling about sponges then?" Cody asked, hoping that his brother's dream wasn't foreshadowing anything.

_"I have no idea."_

**Domino Effect, chapter 10, Take a Breath  
**  
Those nights belong to us  
There's nothing wrong with us  
Those nights belong to us

_Cody walked through the halls of school, glad to be in the familiar setting. He could finally return to what he was good at. He had worked hard during the summer to be able to enter the same grade as Zack._

__

However, as he went through his classes on the first day, he couldn't help but hear the whispers that followed him wherever he went. It shouldn't have been surprising, after all Zack was well known throughout the school and having his long lost twin show up was bound to attract attention.

_As the days passed into weeks, and weeks into months, Cody excelled as always in his studies, but even so, he felt alone. Zack would be out with his friends and Cody would be at home reading a book. He knew he was always welcome to go with Zack, and did occasionally, but he wanted to be more than just Zack's brother.  
_  
**Between Separated and Domino Effect**

I remember when we used to laugh  
And now I wish those nights would last

"It seems like it's been an eternity since we were all together. I really miss them."

"You mean Bruce and Victoria?"

"Not just them, I miss living at the hotel with Carey," Cody said staring at the ceiling as a wave of nostalgia hit him. For all his new family tried to give him, they couldn't replace the family and friends he once knew at the hotel. Being on the ship with Moseby and London brought a glimpse of the past, but it was still nothing like what he had experienced before.

Stay up late and we'd talk all night  
In the dark room lit by the TV light  
Through all the hard times in my life  
Those nights kept me alive

_"Ooo! You DID do it!" Cody said_

_"I did not. I was in my bed all night," Zack protested, knowing for once he was innocent of what Moseby accused him of, "I even remember having this weird dream; I was piling stuff against the doors to keep the zombies out –" He paused for a moment, letting his mind fully process his strange dream. "Ooo! I DID do it!"_

**Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Scary Movie  
**  
We'd listen to the radio play all night  
Didn't want to go home to another fight

_"Why are you so upset all of a sudden?" Zack asked, shocked to see his brother so assertive._

__

"It's not all of a sudden. It's been 13 years in the making, and I don't want us to like Mr. Moseby and his brother." They turned back to the hotel where the Moseby's were fighting, Spenser on top of Marion having him in a headlock.

"If we do, then can I be Spenser? He's rich, he gets all the babes, and he's winning." Just as he said that, Marion proceeded to throw Spenser onto the floor, however Spenser came back with a vengeance, latching onto his brother's leg.

"This is what I mean," Cody said, "I don't want to keep everything bottled up inside for 30 years and end up hating you."

"You'd hate me?" Zack asked, shocked that his brother really could feel that way about him.

"Eventually." Turning back to the action, they saw the hotel manager walking across the lobby with his brother wrapped around his leg. "Like now, if I don't get this bike."

_"It's yours," Zack said, not wanting his selfishness to cause his brother to hate him._

**Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Moseby's Big Brother**

Through all the hard times in my life  
Those night kept me alive

_"But there is a Mr. Tipton, and he loves things that are wild. We'll call Mr. Tipton and tell him everything!" Cody declared._

__

"He has homes in 12 countries. You don't know where he is," Moseby countered.

"Madrid. It was in today's paper," Zack said.

"You don't have his phone number."

"It was on London's speed dial," Cody said.

"You don't have the nerve."

_" We climbed 10 stories up a laundry chute. We got nothin' but nerve," Zack said, content that he had defeated Moseby._

**Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Bird Men of Boston  
**  
Stay up late and we'd talk all night  
In the dark room lit by the TV light

"We should probably go to sleep soon," Cody said noticing the clock read 1:26am, and when they would have to take positions for the coming battle in less than 12 hours, they'd need as much sleep as they could get.

"Night Cody," he said turning the light off and wrapping the blankets around himself. He was tired, but was glad he could just talk to Cody like they had on their journey together. Even though he lived through many things he wished he could have forgotten, he was glad that he and Cody had grown closer than ever.

"Night Zack," Cody answered. His body was tried and he knew his mind needed sleep, however he was far too nervous to let his body drift into unconsciousness. He thought back to his time on the streets, how he had trained himself to wake up at the slightest noise, and while he had been able to relax some once returning to a normal life.

Through all the hard times in my life  
Those nights kept me alive  
We'd listen to the radio play all night

As Cody's mind wandered through the crevices of his memories, he found himself thinking about all the battles he had been in so far. The stench of the corpses surrounding him found its way into his mind accompanied by the voices screaming around him.

He jumped up in bed, looking around and saw the shadowy figures all around him. In the black of night, he couldn't make out what they were, but they resembled people. "Who are you?" he asked, thinking it was only a nightmare.

However, instead of answering, the figures began placing their hands on Cody, paralyzing him with fear. He tried pushing them away, but they held him down their gently strength overwhelming him, and one covered his mouth making it so he couldn't scream. He struggled trying to get free, but to no avail, they were too strong and too many of them.

He bit down on the figure's hand forcing it to let go. "GET OFF OF ME!" he screamed, which instantly awoke Zack who turned on the lights.

Cody looked around, shocked to see the strange figures completely gone. "What's wrong?" Zack asked.

"Sorry, it was just a nightmare," Cody said, reassuring both Zack and himself.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Cody nodded, sure that his mind was just playing tricks on him.

The two of them went back to sleep, getting what little rest they could until the alarm went off signaling the start of a new day.

Didn't want to go home to another fight  
Through all the hard times in my life  
Those night kept me alive

**February 13th 2010 1:13pm  
**  
The twins and Bailey stood at the corner of fifth and high street, waiting for the enemy to come. Zack fiddled the safety on his gun, his nervous heart knowing he'd have to fight at any second. He glanced around rapidly at any sound, knowing he couldn't let the enemy get the jump on them.

"I can feel it," Cody softly announced as he felt the air around them contort as if was clay the potter was forming.

"Me too," Zack said. They could feel the portals opening, the enemy was coming and the twins readied their bodies for whatever was thrown at them.

A horrible roar echoed through the air, shattering windows of the city's many skyscrapers and causing the ground itself to quake in fear. A flash of lightning shot across the clear blue sky. The wind itself seemed to take a deep breath, readying itself for the destruction sure to follow.

"Where are they?" Bailey asked.

As if on cue, a dozen monsters ran burst from one of the alleys and at the three. With precise aim, the teens fired their guns, slicing through the fiends with many bullets sending their carcasses to the ground.

"Impressive young ones," a voice bellowed from the sky. The three looked up, nearly trembling in sheer terror at the sight.

Leaping from a ten-story window, the figure descended elegantly on blackened angel wings. Landing gently on one foot before the other, he drew his crimson stained sword, ready to end more lives. "Hakalahs?" Zack asked, a lump forming in his throat.

"Yes," he said pointing his sword at the three. "Now, show me your power!"

Those nights belong to us  
There's nothing wrong  
...

**A/N: **It's been a while and I apologize for the long wait. I've actually had this chapter ready for a while, but wanted to wait until I had the next four chapters written before I updated this one. Chapters 16-19 are written, but need some major editing so hopefully I can update those in a couple weeks.

I have to say, I really think you'll like what I have planned for the rest of this story. I ran into a few problems when the characters refused to go along with what I had planned but I think it turned out even better that way.


	16. Chapter 16: Beginning of the End

**A/N: It's been a long time coming, but here's the first part of Domino Effect's finale. Thanks to Wyntirsno for betaing and helping me work out some plot details. Enjoy…**

_'Say goodbye,  
As we dance with the devil tonight  
Don't you dare look at him in the eye  
As we dance with the devil tonight'_

_-Dance with the Devil, Breaking Benjamin_

**Chapter 16: Beginning of the End**

"So you're the ones who stopped my men on the ship," Hakalahs noted.

"Just like we're going to stop you here!" Zack said with a wicked smile spreading across his face. He was going to enjoy bringing down Hakalahs. He might have been outmatched, but that didn't change his determination. He didn't care about the logic that said he was suicidal for running into a battle like this; he knew he would win and that was all he needed.

Zack summoned his sword and ran at the Black Phoenix. With a speed that no human eye could follow, he leapt into the air and brought his blade down. However, Hakalahs was just as fast, raising his own weapon to deflect the attack.

Zack jumped back, but Hakalahs was quick to pursue, aiming his blade for the teen's head. The older twin ducked just in time, before aiming a kick towards his foe's stomach, hitting him and sending him several feet into the air. Bailey was quick to follow up the attack, summoning several lances of fire around her and rocketing them at him. The searing blazes flew at Hakalahs but he held out his hands, both willing the fire to bend to their will. His experience with the elements allowed him to gain control of them and he harmlessly deflected the fire into two buildings, causing debris to descend upon the evacuated city. Not giving the heroes a chance to retaliate, he flew at them. However, Hakalahs had forgotten about Cody who had snuck behind him in the chaos of the fight, and launched one of his blue time blasts into him, sending him skidding into the ground.

However, they knew it would take much more than that to defeat this powerful enemy and their thoughts were confirmed when he rose from the ground, dusting the pieces of the street off him. "Not bad, but time to get serious," he declared, unharmed by the previous attacks. The ground around them began rumbling and Hakalahs drew upon his power over earth causing several boulders to emerge around him. Clenching his fist, the rocks flew at the trio.

Zack and Cody were able to nimbly dodge the attack, the rocks no match for the twins' speed, but Bailey didn't have that advantage. Instead, she summoned a massive wall of flames blocking the attack. It took all of her power as Hakalahs sent them at her from all directions. She spun around, meeting each of the rocks with an equal force of flame, canceling the attack.

However, since Bailey distracted him, Cody found an opening through the many boulders. The younger twin ran at Hakalahs; jumping on top of one of the rocks, before pushing off it sending him flying at his enemy, fist ready to connect with face.

Hakalahs was even faster than the teen, grabbing onto Cody's wrist and holding him a few feet into the air. Using his other hand, he filled it with lightning, about to slam it into Cody's chest. At the last second, Zack kicked Hakalahs' forcing him to drop Cody before the attack could connect.

Seeing that fighting the three at such close distances would be difficult, Hakalahs leapt into the air, summoning massive streams of lightning and firing them at the ground, tearing through the streets and any building he happened to hit in the process. Cody countered by firing several time energy blasts at the powerful foe, but Hakalahs easily dodged them before continuing his destructive rampage.

"He's strong." Cody echoed all their fears. Not even their strongest attacks could get through his impenetrable techniques and it took everything they had to survive his endless barrage.

"It's too late to run though," Zack said resolved as ever to defeat this opponent no matter how strong he was. He couldn't say he wasn't terrified, but he wouldn't let that stop him. There was too much at stake for him to just run now. He'd stay and keep the promise he made, no matter what the cost.

Hakalahs descended upon them once more, gathering the moisture out of the air and pounding the hero with massive streams of water. They tried running, but it was no use as the water surrounded them and began lifting them off the ground. Cody hit several of them with his time blasts, however, the holes he made quickly refilled, making him a prisoner to the water. Soon, he and his brother found themselves slammed into various buildings, crushed by the pressure of the water and with it surrounding them, they couldn't breathe.

However, Bailey stood strong, using her flames to evaporate the roaring waters before they could take hold of her and counter attacked, freeing the twins before it was too late. She stood exhausted, but unharmed after the furious attack, and saw she might have the opportunity to strike back. Gathering the fire around her again, she launched several large spheres at him, which he countered with the water. However, the water could only last so long before it turned to steam as she continued sending blast after blast of fire. He couldn't hold off the attacks for long, and he found himself surrounded in all directions by mighty flames.

Focusing her mind on all the fire burning through the air, she brought them all around him, engulfing him in a tornado of fire. Hakalahs tried using his own control of fire to stop the attack, but he couldn't control both water and fire at the same time.

"She got him," Cody said looking on in awe from within the building, tossing an office chair off his leg.

"That's amazing," Zack said, equally amazed at her prowess with the element after so little training.

However, as they ran to congratulate her, Hakalahs appeared right in front of her, unharmed sans slightly charred clothing. With a speed that only a dimensional could follow, he brought his sword up over her shoulder and swung down, slicing through flesh and bone, as if her armor wasn't even there. Her blood coated the ground around her as her brain processed the strange sensation and sight before the pain could even register. Her eyes grew wide with terror when the horror of the situation hit her.

She had been slice up like a thanksgiving turkey. Hakalahs shook his blade, trying to cleanse it of her blood which was still running down the smooth surface. The farm girl clutched her chest, trying to hold in the blood, but to no avail. The stinging sensation had begun to register as pain, yet she couldn't understand what had happened. Finally her body couldn't take it anymore, falling unconscious. She wouldn't have been able to say if it was due to the blood loss, internal injuries, or just the immense pain, although it was likely a mix of all three.

Cody rushed to her, caching her as she fell, Zack right at their side. The younger twin felt his teeth clench and his fists roll into balls. His cheeks began boiling a bright red as a blue aura began animating from him. He gently waved his hand over her wound, slowing time around the wound to delay the injuries. It wouldn't be a permanent fix, but it would be long enough for him to finish this battle.

After gently setting Bailey on the ground, he sprinted at Hakalahs, his fist aimed for his enemy's face. Hakalahs blocked it with his arm, feeling a bruise forming from the sheer velocity. Cody followed it up by leaping into the air, spinning and slamming his foe in the back of the head with his shoe, sending the ancient into the ground before pursuing him with two time blasts ,which he barely got up in time to dodge. However, he wasn't fast enough to avoid Zack slicing his blade across his left arm, severing tendons and slicing into bone.

Hakalahs looked down in awe as he saw his blood drip along the streets he was destroying only a moment ago. It was impossible for a mortal to wound someone as powerful as him, but these kids had done just that.

He didn't have long to contemplate it though, as Cody ran at him again, nearly sending his fist into his jaw again, only blowing him back with a gust of wind at the last second before parrying Zack's blade. He sent Zack away with a gust of wind as well, but that didn't hold them off for long. This seemed impossible, he thought their injuries would have slowed them down, but instead they seemed to keep getting stronger as the battle wore on. He wasn't sure how it was happening, but if it kept up at this rate, he might actually lose.

With raw determination, the twins continued their attacks, no longer seeing Hakalahs as some invincible monster, but instead just a fun challenge. Zack was enthralled as he unleashed his speed to new heights and combining that with his martial arts training he kept up with the deft blade work of Hakalahs while his twin unleashed a fury of punches and kicks along with the occasional time blast thrown in for good measure. With their combined power, they had him on the defensive, and if they could just keep it up, they could win.

Cody narrowly dodged a blade aimed for his arm while Zack deflected his other blade, leaving Hakalahs wide open for a time blast from Cody, sending him completely through two buildings.

Not to let himself be defeating like that, Hakalahs used his power to teleport to get behind Cody before bringing his blade down as he did with Bailey earlier. However, Cody was ready for him, turning to block the sword with his steel plated forearm, thinking it would deflect the attack. Even so, Hakalahs used his power over space to sever the steel in his armor, allowing the blade to slice through twin's skin. Cody jumped back in pain, though he didn't let the scratch stop his furious assault, causing Hakalahs to leap into the air, raining down blasts of fire and lightning wildly.

Zack and Cody did everything they could to dodge the many attacks, their speed barely able to keep up. However, their eyes locked on Bailey's helpless figure. Cody ran to her, before one of Hakalahs' could strike her. He hurriedly lifted her onto his shoulders while still being careful not to worsen her injuries. He carried her away, not a second before a pillar of flame descended upon her previous location.

The twins ducked behind a building to escape his attacks until they could come up with a new strategy.

"We can't hit him while he's in the air like that," Zack said breathing heavily, feeling the toll the battle had taken on his body.

"I know, he's too far away for a time blast to work," Cody added, racking his brain for a solution. "And we have to beat him soon so we can get Bailey to safety."

"Can you heal her?"

"I was able to slow her injuries, but it won't hold for long and I've never healed anything this major."

"Well, we have to do something to help her. You run and get her to safety while I stay here and keep him occupied," Zack said as two other massive buildings collapsed around them.

"I can't leave you to face him alone."

"I'll be fine by myself, while every second she stays here brings her a second closer to death," Zack said placing his hand on his little brother's shoulder. "Trust me Cody, I won't die on you."

"I guess you're right," Cody said half-heartedly. He hated having to leave his brother to fend for himself like that, but he knew he had a point. He'd just have to get Bailey to safety as soon as possible and then rush back to help Zack finish the battle. "Okay."

Hakalahs slowly descended before them, a massive sphere of fire hovering above him, obviously ready to end this fight "Go," Zack said as he gripped his sword and ran at Hakalahs.

**To Be Continued…**

**A/N:** Well, this didn't go quite how I planned, I'll tell you exactly how later on, but I can't now without spoiling anything. Oh well, since when do my plans go how I think they will? I think I like this way even better, and it sets up a couple important things later on.


	17. Chapter 17: All or Nothing

_'The thing I treasure most in life cannot be taken away  
There will never be a reason why I will surrender to your advice  
To change myself, I'd rather die__  
__Lonely, we'll not understand__  
__I will make the greatest sacrifice__  
__You can't predict where the outcome lies__  
__You'll never take me alive'_

_-I'm Alive, Disturbed_

**Chapter 17: All or Nothing**

Zack stood, his breaths uneven as he prepared to face this powerful foe alone. His eyes blinked, trying to calm his restless nerves. He gripped his blade tighter, his knuckles turning white from the force on the sword. "Go," he said, his voice hiding the fear raging only inches beneath the surface. So far, they had been able to stand up against this monster, but Zack could feel his power start to fade and he knew if given the chance his body would collapse from exhaustion. He knew the chances of him dying here were great, but if he was to perish here, he'd give Hakalahs a hell of a fight while he still could.

The older twin flew through the air leaping above the fireball that was thrown at him before descending upon Hakalahs.

"Okay," Cody said fighting back the lump in his throat. He knew as well as Zack did that this was a suicidal plan. The only way they could stand a chance against Hakalahs was together. However, Cody knew that Bailey could die at any moment, and there was no way he could save her without getting her away from the battle. If he could reach the hospital fast enough, he might get back in time to help Zack before it was too late. It was crazy, but even so, it was the best chance they had to get everyone out alive. "Be careful," Cody said softly, though he was sure Zack was too far away to hear him

Hakalahs leapt back dodging Zack's attack before flying at the dimensional. Their swords clashed again, before Hakalahs hit him in the chest with a fireball, the impact sending him rooling along the ground. He looked down, feeling the pain and saw the blood pouring out from the charred skin, glad that the attack didn't connect for long. However, while looking down, he didn't notice Hakalahs flying at him.

As Hakalahs went to swing his blade at the twin, an arrow fell from the sky, striking Hakalahs in the shoulder, sending him to the ground. Zack looked up, to see Altinia standing there, another arrow already fired. Hakalahs saw this one coming, swiping it away with his blade before yanking the other out of his arm. He scowled at the former queen in hatred as he mended the torn flesh with a quick wave of his hand.

"I'll take it from here," Altinia said making an ice bridge and sliding along it to the ground.

"Are you sure?" Zack eagerly asked not hiding the fact that he'd rather run than fight if he had a choice.

"Yeah, just protect your brother; Hakalahs is far from the only powerful foe in the city."

"Okay," Zack nodded running to catch up to Cody, hoping that Altinia knew what she was getting herself into.

Hakalahs looked on with an amused expression across his face. He contemplated pursuing the twins, but he'd leave them to the other ancients and monsters. Those kids were a pest, but he'd much rather crush the one standing in front of him.

A slight smirk formed across his face. "Once again we meet on the field of battle," he said, with a slight chuckle. "Do you really think you can beat me?"

"You should know I'm not one to pick a fight I don't think I can win."

"Perhaps, but you remember what happened the last time you thought you could beat me on your own. How many thousand was it that died because of your failure?"

Altinia closed her eyes for a brief moment, flashes of the memories from the war filling her mind. The guilt had followed her for many years, her arrogance killing many. However, it also motivated her to get stronger, so that no one would ever have to die from her weakness again.

"I've grown stronger since then," she declared, fully resolved to stop him this time.

"Really now?"

She didn't even see it happen, but in half a second he was right behind her, his sword aiming for her back. She tried jumping to dodge it, but she wasn't fast enough to avoid the blade as it sliced through her arm.

"You have no hope of winning," he said slicing her other arm as well. "I will admit you are a powerful elemental, but that's nothing compared to my power."

Altinia didn't respond with words, instead choosing her trusty bow and arrow to do the talking for her.

However, Hakalahs merely stood there, a confident grin across his face as he held his hand out and made the projectile vanish into thin air.

"Surely you know that such predictable attacks are futile. Since I can bend the space around me, your attack is now mine."

Altinia hardly had time to respond before her arrow flew down from the sky, plowing into the concrete where she stood a second earlier. She stared at him, waiting for his next move. She knew there was no way she could keep up with his speed, and his mastery of the elements could defeat her as well. However, even he had a limit to how long he could go. She could tell that he was weakened during his battle with the twins, which would give her the chance she needed to win.

"Too scared to move?" she taunted, hoping to get him to make a mistake.

"My dear, you should be the one paralyzed with fear." He began building a fireball in his hand, firing it at her causing her to leap in the air to dodge it. However, he teleported right behind her, a flaming punch aimed for the back of her head. She turned to kick him, however, he vanished in a blur. Soon the fire spread all around her, engulfing her in a vortex of flames. Hakalahs had the vortex collapse on her, only stopped by the ice elemental forming a shield of ice blocking the attack.

She returned to the ground, mostly unharmed from his attack. However, she knew she was too weak to defeat him now. She gripped her bow, not wanting to resort to this technique, but had prepared it for a time such as this. "Do you know why I use a bow?" she asked.

"Something about focusing your power through that thing so you can harness your power longer," he scoffed, not really caring how these weaklings fought.

"Well, there is that," she said as she split her bow in half, turning it into twin blades, "But I also use it to store power, which I can call upon to give me far greater power than any elemental you've seen before. Now, let's end this."

With the bow broken into the swords, a mighty chill filled the air. The ancients could see their breaths as they eagerly awaited for battle to continue. Altinia had never felt so powerful; all the energy coursing through her body just demanded a way out. That would be just what she needed to stop him.

Hakalahs wasn't expecting this, but he knew that she was a crafty opponent. She had grown considerably more powerful, though he couldn't tell just how much. To test just how strong Altinia had become he sent a stream of fire at her, however it was dissipated instantly by a frigid wind. "Fire is useless here. Ice is the ruler here, her frosty touch sending those foolish enough to oppose her to a frozen grave."

Hakalahs was almost afraid at Altinia's power after seeing how effortlessly she stopped that attack. Even with his five elements, none of them possessed that kind of raw power. She still didn't have anything that could keep up with his speed though, so he teleported right behind her, planning to end her annoyance with a swipe across her neck, however as he brought his blade down, he found his arm slowed as ice crystals began forming along it allowing her to easily dodge it. "What is this?"

"Tiny beads of ice spreading out from around me, an invisible shield if you will. As soon as they attach to someone they hold them in place. Soon you won't be able to move at all, an easy target for my blades."

Gathering the frozen particles all around him, Altinia coated him with a sheet of pure ice, before running at him. She brought her sword down, however he was still able to teleport away before the attack could connect. He couldn't get far, only about 20 feet away, but it freed him from the ice. He charged at her again, but she effortlessly used the ice crystals to encase him once more.

"Face it; you've reached your limit."

Hakalahs hated to admit it, but she was right. He didn't have the power to teleport far enough away to escape her icy domain, so escaping this prison would be a waste of what little power he had left. Instead, he'd just have to find a way to fight with it.

Using his control over water, Hakalahs was able to take over the ice encasing him allowing him to move and using his speed he was able to keep up with her attacks. He deflected Altinia's blade as she brought it down before giving her a kick to the face sending her back. She hit the ground hard, shocked that he'd been able to fight in that condition.

"I can't keep this up for long," Altinia said to herself as she rose again. While releasing the power in her bow gave her considerable power, it also put a strain on her body. Channeling that much power would soon kill her if she didn't end the fight soon.

She ran at him again, their blades locked as each one pushed their powers to the limit, harnessed hoping to get the one strike that would end the fight. However, neither of them would let the other break through their frail defenses. After several clashes of steel, Altinia finally got through by swiping her blade through Hakalahs' side, breaking his concentration over the ice and sending him to the ground.

To make sure it was over for good, Altinia stood over the fallen Hakalahs and drove her blade through his heart, causing him to scream out in sheer agony, not believing someone so weak was killing him. Once he was finally quiet, Altinia turned, seeing his breaths had ceased, and finally knew the battle was over. She smiled as she released her control of the ice; sending a chilling wind out all around her before falling to her knees, glad to just have the chance to rest.

…

**A/N: **Even though it took everything Altinia had, she finally brought Hakalahs down, however, this battle isn't over yet… In fact, it's only just begun! Thanks again to Wyntirsno for betaing.


	18. Chapter 18: Consuming Darkness

A/N: This chapter is a song fic based off the song "This is War" by Thirty Seconds to Mars. I've thought about doing a song fic battle a couple times earlier, but this seemed like the best place for it, so I hope you like it. Enjoy…

**Chapter 18: Consuming Darkness**

A warning to the people  
The good and the evil

The elemental siblings made their way through the city, hearing the sounds of gunfire and the horrible cries of the beasts in the distance. Aaron had gathered several boulders which hovered behind him, ready to pummel the monsters before they got a chance to attack while Heather had a stream of water draped around her. They weren't sure when they'd be attacked, but they knew they couldn't waste any time upon encountering the enemy.

Several soldiers had ducked behind cars, letting loose a barrage of bullets into the decaying flesh of the monsters, sending their mangled figures sprawling to the ground. However they didn't see the hoard of wolfs coming from behind them. They turned, hearing the fiends trampling through the streets, ready to unleash another round, but before they could, boulders crushed the creatures. The soldiers turned, to see the earth elemental standing with a confident grin on his face.

"So, a few elementals think they can turn the tide of the battle," a voice rang out as its owner emerged from one of the alleyways. He stood there, enthralled at the coming challenge.

"Who are you?" Heather shouted.

"That must be Ryo," Aaron said as he calmly remembered the information they had received coming into the battle.

This is war

"I see some of you know me," Ryo said as he gathered lightning in his hand. "However, you obviously don't know me well enough to flee while you had the chance."

To ensure no one would interfere with the battle, Ryo's first target was the soldiers who had aimed their guns, ready to fire. However, they never got the chance as a Ryo launched a sphere of lightning at them, killing them instantly in a massive array of sparks.

Filled with rage at Ryo's disregard of human life, Aaron gathered the rock around him, surrounding him in an armor of stone. He then launched himself at Ryo, his fist colliding with the older elementals face sending him sprawling to the ground. Not to be outdone though, Ryo jumped back to his feet, sending several blasts of lightning at his foe.

As the attack collided into Aaron, pieces of his rock armor broke apart, though he willed the stone to stay together and his shield withstood the attack. While Ryo was shocked by his foe's defense, Aaron used his control of the earth to latch onto the lightning elemental's legs from the ground beneath him, holding him in place. Aaron then brought out several lances of earth from around his foe, and wrapped them around his wrists and then yanked him to the ground, breaking several bones in the process.

"How does it feel?" Aaron asked, standing over his defeated foe, raising a lance of earth above him ready to deliver the final blow. "To be the helpless victim of a stronger foe?"

Ryo looked up at his enemy, not believing that someone as strong as him could lose. He felt his body trembling, he was actually afraid.

"You never showed them mercy, and I won't show it to you either."

To the soldier, the civilian  
The martyr, the victim…

Trey clenched the golden locket that bounced against his chest, reminding him of what he fought for. He knew the battle would be fierce, and that many lives would end this day. "Today's sacrifice is tomorrow's joy," he said to himself before looking down from the skyscraper.

He spotted ten soldiers unaware of the danger that would soon face them. He brought forth his prized Kanata before teleporting to the middle of the group. They tried raising their weapons to stop him, but before they could fire, he slashed across them multiple times, slaying them in an array of blood.

Peter and Adian heard the screams of pain as the people died and ran to see if they could help. However, it was too late; the unconscious victims strewn along the ground had far too serious injuries to save.

"It's Trey," Adian whispered, seeing the mighty dimensional resting the blunt end of his blade over his shoulder.

"We need to warn the others," Peter said as he hastily began bending the space around them to get them away.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Trey said as he casually walked over to the two. He waved his hand and a faint blue light emanated over the area. The strange attack didn't seem to do anything, but Peter and Adian found their powers somehow blocked.

"What is this?" Peter said, suddenly overwhelmed at the difference between his foe's power and his own.

"I've reinforced the space around you making it impossible for you to form portals. There is no escape"

"We'll just beat you then," Adian said pulling his handgun out of his back pocket, but before he could fire it, Trey was right in front of him and kicked his wrist sending the weapon flying far away.

"Your courage is admirable, but if not combined with wisdom, it will only lead to an early grave."

Adian back peddled, stricken with fear. He told himself that he wouldn't be afraid no matter what the enemy threw at him, but he saw absolutely no way he and his brother could stand up to Trey.

"Adian, start running, I'll hold him off," Peter said. No matter what it took, he would protect his brother. After all Adian had done for him, it was the least he could do. He knew the battle would be over in a matter of seconds, but he hoped those precious seconds would be enough for his little brother to escape.

Adian looked at his brother, knowing how crazy that plan was. He wished he could have been stronger so he could help, but it was useless. There was no way they could stand against someone as powerful as Trey.

This is war

Suddenly a gunshot rang out. Still in a state of hyper speed, Trey looked behind him, seeing one of the soldiers he wounded had managed to get on his knees and get a shot off. However, the bullet moved far too slow to hit the dimensional who effortlessly sidestepped the attack.

The sound of metal shredding through the human body filled the air as the unfortunate victim let loose a blood-curling scream while he could still process what happened.

Peter and Trey turned to the younger dimensional, whose eyes were wide with shock, his hand covering the bullet hole in his forehead. Not a word escaped the teen's mouth. Almost instantly, he fell, Peter catching him seconds before his body collided with the ground. Tears began to cascade down the older brothers' eyes.

"You'll pay for that!" Trey screamed, and appeared before the wounded soldier. Using his power to bend space, he shoved his hand through his enemy's chest, latched onto his heart, and yanked it out. However, before the soldier could react Trey warped in no less than a dozen blades around them and sliced and diced his body beyond recognition.

Trey looked back at Peter, seeing the fear in the other dimensional. He couldn't blame him; blood coated him like someone had spray painted him red.

"I'll let you go this time," Trey said, his voice shaking. "Give your brother a proper burial, I'll make sure the monsters stay away from you."

Peter wasn't sure if he could trust Trey, but decided he didn't have much of a choice. He picked his brother up, Adian's blood spilling down his arms, and got away from the battle. He couldn't believe how everything had changed so fast. One second his brother was standing beside him, talking, breathing, alive, and the next, his corpse rested in his arms.

It's the moment of truth and the moment to lie

Marion Moseby hovered over the streets of the city, already taking down at least half a dozen monsters at the last corner. Several more wolfs leaped out at him, however he gathered his red energy in his hand before blasting them into the wall. Not giving him a moment's rest, several of the armored warriors made their way toward him blades ready to strike. The Nightwing jumped back to avoid his strike, before gathering his power for his strongest attack.

"Heart of flame, soul for lightning, consume my enemies with your righteous fury."

Upon channeling the power for the spell, fire and lightning descended from the sky, consuming the monsters in a sphere coursing with the fire and lightning which tore through them. Once the spell faded, only the fiends' corpses remained.

"Not bad, I see you finally managed to pull off that simple spell."

"Spenser," Moseby said, not entirely surprised his brother would show up at a time like this.

The moment to live and the moment to die

"What are you doing here?" Moseby asked, not liking where this could be going.

"Surely you recognize these monsters as those we used to hunt when we were kids; how do you think Hakalahs got them here?"

"So you're the one behind these attacks."

"I wouldn't say that I was the one, but apparently they figured having a Nightwing who lived on this planet for the past 20 years would help in organizing it. Of course, by the time this battle is over, they'll have the raw power to overcome the humans."

"What do you mean?"

"London is the spot of the ancient portal between our worlds. All we have to do is complete the connection on this end and it's over. The Nightwings are making their move today, and with Hakalahs' help no one will stand against us."

"Oh no," Moseby said, finally seeing the enemy's true plan. It wasn't just about destroying London, no it was something far worse, if the full force of the Nightwings military came to earth, they wouldn't stand a chance.

"Yes, you see where this is going. It's not too late to join us; they forgave my exile and I'm sure they'd do the same for you."

"I'm sorry, but there is too much here for me to still fight for," Moseby said, determined to protect those he loved, no matter where he came from or who he was.

"I can't say I won't enjoy this then," Spenser said, cracking his knuckles in excitement of the coming battle.

The moment to fight,  
the moment to fight,  
to fight,  
to fight,  
to fight

The hotel manager took a deep breath, knowing this wouldn't be an easy fight. He was always the weaker of the two, even when they were kids and he guessed that Spenser had regained his powers much sooner than him. Even so, he vowed he would never be pushed around by his brother again, especially after the Tipton incident.

Spencer gathered the crimson energy in his hand and fired several shots at his brother who flew around them before returning fire, missing the elder Nightwing, but shattering several windows of the skyscrapers that lined the fields of battle. While Spencer's attacks were obviously stronger, Marion saw that he was able to dodge them, and that could give him the chance to defeat his stronger brother. He hoped to end this battle without any of them seriously hurt, and that he could just knock some sense into Spencer.

"Marion, let's end this foolish charade and get serious here. I'm a busy man, and while killing you is something I've always dreamed of doing, I've got more important things to do," Spenser said as he landed on the war torn street.

The younger Nightwing saw that his brother was beyond reason. He didn't want to have to fight, and possibly kill Spenser, but at a time like this, there were too many lives at stake to hold back. Spencer wouldn't and if Marion was to have any hope of winning, he'd have to go all out.

The manager began gathering his magic power, unleashing his most powerful attack once again. The fire and lightning fell from the sky engulfing his brother in a sphere of flame and lightning, however, it was quickly shattered and a tiger made of pure crimson energy leapt into the air at Marion. The younger Nightwing tried deflecting the attack, but to no avail. The tiger slashed through him, sending him flying to the ground.

He got up, but the blood running down his chest showed the damage the attack did. "You had your chance to surrender; now it's too late."

Marion tried gathering his power to counter Spenser's next attack, but he knew it was futile.

"Roar, dragon of the crimson flames. Come and devour my foe." After channeling his power for a few seconds, Spencer unleashed a dragon made of fire that shot out at Marion. The younger brother tried flying into the air to dodge the attack, but it was no use. The dragon took hold of him, tearing him to shreds before reducing him to nothing more than ashes.

"That was even less of a challenge than I thought it would be."

To the right, to the left  
We will fight to the death

Zack ran down the streets of the city trying to find his brother. Altinia had given him the chance to get away, and he knew Cody would have trouble both protecting Bailey and defending himself. The older twin glanced to a couple street signs he passed, though it didn't help since he had no idea where he was. _'Cody where are you?'_ he thought to himself trying to figure out where to go.

He closed his eyes, trying to focus on the sounds around him, listening for any sign of either the monsters or his brother. To his surprise though, as he concentrated longer he heard what sounded like a stampede of horses, but he knew that wasn't the case. Opening his eyes, he saw dozens of monsters chasing Cody who stopped every few seconds to fire several fire blasts into the mob. Zack couldn't believe how easy this was, as he ran into battle, taking down several of the monsters that were to closest to his brother. "Zack, what are you doing here?"

"This is no time to explain, just fight them off." Cody could only nod as the battle raged. Zack took on most of the monsters allowing Cody to protect Bailey easier, though he still had difficulty holding her while doding the many attacks trying to only take on one at a time and attack from range when possible. Zack on the other hand when all out trying to attract as much attention as possible as he and his sword plowed through the monsters. In his frenzy though, he was unable to defend himself as several of the friends slashed at him, leaving him covered with injuries, but he didn't let that slow him down. After several moments, the twins had defeated the enemies.

"What happened with Hakalahs?" Cody asked breathing heavily.

"Altinia came and told me to go protect you, and I wasn't about to say no to that."

"Thanks Zack," Cody said with a smile.

"So, now where do we go?" the older twin asked.

"From the layout of the city I studied, the hospital is about 10 blocks away."

"Just tell me where to go then," Zack said.

The took down any monsters they came across while running through the city making it so Cody wouldn't have to fight and could concentrate on Bailey.

"How much farther?" Zack asked as they rounded another turn while impaling several monsters with his blade.

"It looks like the hospital is only a couple more blocks away," Cody said as he looked at the various street signs, glad to see that Bailey was still breathing, but knowing it might not last much longer.

To the Edge of the Earth  
It's a brave new world from the last to the first

However, as they ran down the streets, the clear blue skies suddenly turned black. The twins looked around to find the cause, but as they did, every light also faded to black. They were completely surrounded in darkness.

"What's going on?" Zack said, paralyzed by blindness.

"I don't know," Cody responded, trying to find Zack by following his brother's voice. He knew that whoever did this was going to use the cover of dark to strike, and that if he was near his brother they would stand more of a chance… he hoped.

"It seems for all your power in battling Hakalahs, you're powerless when it comes to the strength of a dark elemental."

The twins stood, trying to see where the seemingly omnipresent voice was coming from. However, without any light it was impossible.

"We have to get out of here," Cody whispered, once he felt his brother beside him.

"Right," Zack said with an unseen nod as the two of them sprinted through the darkness. However, Zack felt a sharp object pierce his left side causing him to fall to the ground while letting lose an ear-piercing scream of pain.

Cody ran back to find his brother, but while doing so, he too was stricken by the unseen attack as it went through his stomach, sending him to the ground, and forcing him to let go of Bailey.

To the right, to the left  
We will fight to the death  
To the Edge of the Earth  
It's a brave new world

Aaron was ready to deliver the final blow to Ryo, however a wall of fire descended from the sky, forcing him to jump back to avoid being burnt to a crisp.

"I see you've recovered since our last battle," David said walking toward the group with a confident smile across his face.

"I should have known we'd run into you here," Aaron said, "It doesn't matter though, we'll just beat you like all the others."

"Confident words from one who doesn't know whom he's up against," the fire elemental replied as he shot several blazing spheres at the two. However, Aaron raised a wall of earth to harmlessly deflect the attack. David wasn't stopped that easily though, as he easily ran beside the wall of stone before launching several more fireballs at him, but those were stopped by Heather's streams of water. She then turned her defense into an attack, pounding him with the clear liquid, slamming him into a building.

Seeing the opportunity they had, Aaron rose up several spheres out of the ground and launched them at David while he was still imprisoned by the water.

David countered by unleashing his wall of flame, evaporating the water and giving him enough time to dodge the stone before it crashed through the walls of the building.

Dawning his earth armor once more, Aaron ran at David. He tried shooting fireballs at his opponent, but they harmlessly scattered against his rock hard shield. David paused for a moment, shocked that his attack had been rendered useless against his opponent; giving Aaron the opportunity he needed to punch David into the ground.

Ryo, seeing his companion losing, stepped into the fray and shot several lightning bolts at Aaron, but Heather diverted those with her streams of water, utilizing the conductivity of her weapon. Anger at his humiliating defeat fueling him, he shot dozens of blasts of lightning at the water elemental, but she easily used her powers to deflect them away from her.

She couldn't help but smile as her foe's frustration. As long as she could divert his attacks with her water, he couldn't hurt her. Combined with Aaron's armor reflecting David's attacks, victory was only a matter of time for them.

Aaron sent another punch flying at David, however this time; the fire elemental grabbed the punch with his palm.

"You're not so invincible," David said as Aaron's armor shattered into a million pieces. He then saw the brown orb sitting around David's neck. His eyes widened as he realized what this meant. David had the orb of earth, allowing him to neutralize his powers. Aaron looked up at David in both fear and awe as the fire elemental blasted him in the chest with a powerful barrage of flames.

"Aaron," Heather yelled once she heard Aaron scream from the burns before his charred body fell to the ground. However, by turning away from Ryo, she left herself open to an attack, which the lightning elemental capitalized on. As she turned, hearing the cracking of the lightning, the electricity struck her, winding its way through her as she too collapsed to the ground.

"They won't be escaping this time," David said as he walked over to the two, knowing one more fireball would ensure they never got up again.

It's a brave new world

Altinia slowly got back to her feet, an immense joy spreading over her. Hakalahs was defeated, after wasting all those chances in the past she had finally defeated him. It didn't matter that she nearly killed herself in the process, even if she had, it would have been worth it, just to know that he wouldn't hurt anyone again.

"You won't get away that easily," a voice called out. She turned, seeing a person coated in dark robes with black wings standing over the fallen Hakalahs.

"Who are you?

"You lived in our world for longer than I've been alive and you still don't know me," the Nightwing said holding his staff over the fallen Hakalahs. "I should kill you myself for such disrespect, but I'll give him that privilege.

"I'd like to see him try now that he's dead." Before she had allowed herself to let her guard down, she made sure that he had stopped breathing. It was over.

"I'm disappointed in him as well. It's a good thing he hadn't' completed the Nightwing transformation, otherwise we couldn't awaken his soul.

"What do you mean?" Altinia asked.

"During the transformation process, a piece of the Nightwing's soul remains dormant within them. If they are killed in this state, they can be revived once their body can sustain life by fully awakening." A dark red light began emanating from the Nightwing's staff and Altinia knew she had to stop him before it was too late. She may have stopped Hakalahs once, but there was no way she could do that again.

She ran at the Nightwing, however, he easily blocked her blade with his staff, before knocking her back with a blast of red lightning, sending her skidding along the ground. "I will ask you to stop interfering." He pointed his staff at her, more red lightning shooting out, though this time, they wrapped her in an unbreakable chain.

She gnashed her teeth, mentally cursing herself for not destroying Hakalahs' body when she had the chance.

"Awaken, servant of the night," he said finishing the incantation and red runes went out from him, surrounding Hakalahs.

A moment that seemed like an eternity passed for Altinia as she watched Hakalahs begin breathing again and the wounds on his body close up. He rose to his feet once more, a dark power emanating from him, seeming to distort the air around them.

"Hakalahs, don't let us down again."

"Don't worry Mystogan, things may not have been as easy as we hoped, but the end result will still be the same."

"I trust you can handle things from here. I must make preparations for phase two." With that, Mystogan flew into the sky.

"Now, let's end this," Hakalahs said walking over to Altinia his sword pointed at her. The lightning chains had faded allowing her to get back to her feet, though she was still stricken with fear. "If you want to run, I'll give you a five second head start."

"You think I'll run; you think I'm afraid?" she shouted, refusing to give him the pleasure of seeing her cower before him.

"Fine then," I'll just kill you," he said flying at her, his blade poised to slice her head off.

…

A/N: Aaron and Heather have both been knocked out, Zack and Cody have been trapped in a prison of darkness, Adian and Moseby have been killed, and Altinia is about to have her head chopped off. Things aren't looking good for our heroes, but this battle still has one more chapter to go. Stay tuned for chapter 19: Unclouded Skies


	19. Chapter 19: Unclouded Skies

_'Who's gonna fight for what's right? __  
__Who's gonna help us survive?  
__We're in the fight of our lives__  
__And we're not ready to die'_

_Hero, Skillet_

**Chapter 19: Unclouded Skies**

Hakalahs walked over to Altinia, a wicked grin on his face as he stared at the former queen. A smile spread across his face, glad to see that he had emotionally broken her as well as overpowering her. He swung his blade down, poised to cut her head off in one clean motion.

However, just as it was about to connect, another blade intercepted the attack. She looked up, amazed to still be alive. Beside her stood a man whose age and wisdom showed through the creases on his face and the white beard hanging from his chin.

"Guardian Field," the old man said, causing blinding light runes to erupt from the ground, forcing Hakalahs to jump into the air to avoid being blown away by its power. "Get away," the stranger told Altinia and she quickly fled, knowing that the battle was out of her hands. "Hakalahs, accept defeat and you may yet live," the stranger demanded, his voice carrying a heavy authority.

"Confident words after only one attack," Hakalahs replied, "Why don't you try threatening me after you've landed a blow on me?" He found it humorous how confidant some people could be, not knowing the demise that soon awaited them.

"Surely you remember my power," he said as red runes spread out all around him.

"It can't be," Hakalahs said to himself, recognizing the tremendous power built up all around him. It was as if he was commanding an unseen force that filled the air. "Kensei, I should have known." It had been many years since they last battled, but there was no mistaking Kensei's powerful magic. It was no ordinary sage that could eradicate a large city with a single spell.

As the runes dissipated a giant fireball, hundreds of feet in diameter, fell from the sky. Hakalahs tried getting away, but it came too fast and was too large for him to avoid. The mighty spell exploded, sending an enflamed Hakalahs flying to the ground while decimating any buildings in the vicinity.

Hakalahs got up, healing his wounds before turning to face Kensei once more. "You're even stronger than before, I see," he said with a sigh, "I'll admit my strength is not enough to win this battle; however, I wasn't about to let a small detail like that stop me, so I decided to call upon a little help." Hakalahs began glowing with a flashy black aura that seemed to shake the sky.

"What is this?" Kensei said taking a step back.

The power of the Nightwings fully flowed through Hakalahs' veins now, giving him tremendous new power. "Tremble in fear Kensei, for you cannot win!" he bellowed. He couldn't believe this power that was flowing through him. All the practice he had with their limited power was nothing compared to the fully awakened might. "Imagine for a second my friend, the power of the ancients combined with that of the Nightwings!"

"Very well then; I'll show you the true power of the Archsage of Light." Kensei pulled out a blue crystal out of his cloak and placed it on his hand, making the power it held within his own. He sprouted blue translucent wings that lifted him into the sky. "Come at me."

"Very well," Hakalahs said drawing his blade and the two of them collided, their swords pushing against each other trying to get leverage over the other's strength but it was to no avail; they appeared evenly matched.

Hakalahs broke away, and used his speed to try getting behinds Kensei, though the Guardian was fast enough to block it. "Divine judgment!" Kensei said, calling upon innumerable rays of light to fall from the sky upon Hakalahs, sending him into the ground and creating a crater nearly 10 feet deep.

Hakalahs sprung back though, obviously injured but far from beaten. "Soul destruction," the ancient said as he flew through the air, his hands pulsing with dark energy. Soon a ghastly wind swept through the air, turning buildings to dust.

Hakalahs saw that even with his spell Kensei stood unharmed. He could tell it had some effect, but any normal humans would have been destroyed from the inside out by that dark power. He sighed, knowing that a Guardian would be hard to defeat, especially one as strong as Kensei. Still, if he was to win, he'd have to strike down this foe no matter how strong he was.

Kensei began gathering his power once more; the previously clear sky above them became covered with grey clouds. Flashes of lightning danced along the clouds and a vicious downpour descended upon the combatants.

"You think a little rain will stop me?" Hakalahs asked as he teleported behind Kensei trying to catch him off guard, however the Guardian once again blocked it and the two were locked in mid air. Manipulating the rain falling around them, Hakalahs blasted his foe into the ground with several streams of water before flying at him shooting blasts of lightning that the elderly Guardian was barely able to dodge.

Kensei hastily got back to his feet and flew to the sky. He unleashed another spell, wrapping Hakalahs in a cyclone of wind that viciously tore at him. However, the king countered with a black wind attack, tearing through the blades of wind with dark shockwaves from his sword. "The elements around us are mine to command, the lightning of the clouds, the water falling along us, the earth below, and even the fires blazing in the streets you really think you can win?" Hakalahs declared.

"Have at me then," Kensei said, pointing his sword at Hakalahs, who smirked as he flew at his foe. He had a feeling the Guardian had something planned, but he wouldn't let fear stop him from attack. With blades coursing with fire and lightning Hakalahs flew at Kensei, expecting Kensei to block his attack again, but instead he sliced through his opponent like he wasn't even trying to avoid it. He quickly glanced around; looking for the surprise attack he knew was coming. Instead a green sphere surrounded him. "I see you fell for my illusion trick," Kensei said standing outside the green sphere unharmed.

"What is this?"

"My attacks on the body carry with them incredible destructive power, but if they are seen they can be avoided. Simple attacks on the mind can be much more effective; merely making my opponent think I'm somewhere else can be all it takes."

Hakalahs couldn't believe he fell for such a simple trick. He tried breaking through the prison around him, but to no avail, his attacks just bounced off the strange energy. He could only look on in terror as his opponent prepared to end this battle.

Kensei began chanting his spell, a tremendous energy building around him. "I who stand in the full light of the heavens call upon thee, who opens the gates of hell. Come forth, divine lightning! This ends now! Indignation!"

The green prison faded, though it was too late for the ancient to stop the spell. The clouds above grew even darker as electricity shot across them in a brilliant show of light. The lightning fell from the sky, blanketing the battlefield with millions of bolts, destroying any cars, buildings, streets, and anything else in the way. Hakalahs tried teleporting away as the attacks fell toward him, but as soon as he escaped one, two more flew down at him. After several strikes, he was sent to the ground, and saw that this wasn't an attack he could simply dodge, and his power of electricity couldn't handle such ferocity.

Even against such an attack, he wasn't about to lose. He grabbed the orb that he still held around his neck and harnessed its power. The orb of lightning allowed him to absorb the attacks and he flew at Kensei once more. Since the Guardian was still channeling all his powers into the lightning storm, he couldn't move and once he saw Hakalahs flying at him it was too late. Hakalahs sliced across Kensei's stomach, cutting him in half.

Kensei fell to the ground, doing everything he could to keep what was left of his body in one piece. However, Hakalahs wasn't about to let this powerful of a foe escape alive. He gathered lightning in his hand and fired several bolts at the Guardian, eradicating what was left of him.

Surveying the battlefield, Hakalahs couldn't help but admire Kensei's destructive power. He wanted to continue the fight here, but he had taken a lot of damage and exerted a lot of energy in that battle as well. That was all right though, even if things didn't go exactly how he hoped, they had already accomplished what was necessary for stage two.

…

Void of emotions, Trey continued down the streets of the city, seeing the large explosions in the distance. He gazed up as he could feel the raw power being unleashed by the combatants, wondering who that could be. He considered going over there to investigate, but the sounds of guns firing reminded him of the mission at hand, to take out the defenses in the city.

Within a matter of seconds, the soldier had fallen as easily as before. Still, his curiosity wound back to the forefront of the dimensional's mind. This power even exceeded that of Hakalahs. Perhaps Ulquiorra and the Nightwings had arrived and were adding their destructive power to the fray. Even if that was the case, it wasn't like the king to flaunt his power for no reason; he felt that by going all out he was admitting that his opponent was his equal, something his pride would never admit. Trey thought about those who were trying to defend the city, and none of them came close to the king's or even Hakalahs' power. The twins were strong, though they shouldn't have been any match for Hakalahs. Trey paused for a moment thinking, there was still that one variable he had yet to fully account for. After his investigation, he knew that his suspicions were true, and that they could be much stronger than they had shown. He hadn't told Hakalahs about it, not thinking it would be enough that they could defeat him, but perhaps he was wrong.

There were also the elemental siblings David had battled in the desert. They could be a threat to Hakalahs' plans, especially with their combined power, but with so many powerful elementals against them, they would quickly be overwhelmed. Altinia was likely the strongest of the human's forces, and Trey felt she could probably match power with David, especially with the ease she defeated Ryo. She was dangerous, that was for sure, but he didn't see how she could match power with Hakalahs, who would likely be the her main target.

He heard a massive rumbling of thunder in the distance, the shockwave nearly strong enough to throw him off his feet. Something hadn't gone according to plan. That wasn't the power of an elemental, whose attacks were swift and fluid. No, this had a magic feel to it something neither humans nor ancients had access to.

"So, the Nightwings are here," Trey said to himself. Sharale and Spencer must had succeeded in opening the portal between the realms.

Feeling the raw power of the attack still flowing through the air, he knew it had to be a powerful Nightwing. Perhaps he was wrong and that the king actually had to use his full power to battle with. He also pondered the possibility that it was Hakalahs, since he had held off on completing the full transformation allowing him to reawaken his soul by finishing the transformation. He couldn't imagine Hakalahs losing, but having a backup plan would serve them well if things didn't go as smoothly as they hoped.

As Trey continued wondering through the city, his phone began ringing. Seeing it was from Hakalahs he quickly opened it to see what had happened.

"It seems our foe isn't alone here," a winded Hakalahs said.

"How so?"

"The Guardians of Truth have arrived."

At this, Trey's eyes lit up. That might explain where that lightning spell came from. Hakalahs had told him about their war against the Nightwings and the power they possessed. Even with help from the Nightwings, the Guardians could be too much for them.

"What are your orders?"

"Sadly they were too powerful for me, so I'm forced to retreat. Continue fighting if possible, though take heed when battling the Guardians. Even if we are to lose this battle, it's best to cut our losses before we lose the war."

"What of the Nightwings?"

"General Mystogan and King Ulquiorra are already setting up the base for stage two along with getting their army into this world. We've accomplished the primary objectives, so there is no reason to continue a pointless battle here."

"As you command my lord."

As Trey closed the phone, he was shocked to hear the tone in Hakalahs' voice. It was filled with doubt, uncertainty, perhaps even fear. If a Guardian could push him that far, than the legends of their power were true. Trey contemplated ordering a retreat, but if instead they could kill several of the Guardians in this battle, they would have a huge advantage later on in the war. Not only that, but he wanted to test his power against one of those legendary warriors.

He continued through the streets, finding another squadron of soldiers, defeating them with ease, sure that he'd attract attention.

"Hey!" a loud voice called out from one of the rooftops. Trey looked up, seeing someone covered head to toe in white armor, pointing a broad sword at them.

"One of the Guardians I presume," Trey said casually as he turned to face this possibly challenging foe.

"Yes," the Guardian said as he leapt from the building landing right in front of Trey, his sword poised ready to strike. "I won't let you hurt anyone else."

"Interesting," Trey said in response as he summoned his blade. "The Guardians are known for their unmatchable power in combat, far exceeded that of any mortal man. They are trained in many different forms of combat, allowing them to defeat any foe, no matter the number or might of their enemy."

"For all your knowledge of us, you seem to lack the proper fear."

"Perhaps," Trey said, making no motion to attack. He had to agree with his foe. Normally he would at least be on edge before that challenging of a fight, but he didn't feel any apprehension from this Guardian. "Tell me, do you think you can defeat me?"

"Of course, I have the power of light coursing through me, there is no way I will lose."

"And that is your mistake. It is not the source that you draw your power on that makes you strong, but your own ability."

The Guardian took a step back, signaling to Trey just what he thought all along. Apparently not all Guardians were equal in power, this one was obviously one of the weaker ones, yet to become confident in his own ability.

"It doesn't matter. It's my job as a Guardian to stop you, I have to keep anymore innocent people from dying."

"Tell me your name," Trey said wanting to learn a little more about this amusing foe.

"Sydney, what's it to you?" he said, anger building inside him.

"I enjoy learning about my opponent before I battle them; it's surprising the effect a little bit of information can have on a battle. Anyway, my name is Trey. Now, show me your power."

The Guardian did, the white armor glowing brighter until it seemed to be pulsating an aura that nearly blinded the dimensional. Sydney fired several streams of light that cascaded through the air, forcing Trey to use his speed to dodge it. Looking behind them, he saw the damage they caused as they ripped through buildings before their energy finally dissipated. _'I guess even weaker Guardian's have incredible power. Perhaps it's best that I'm starting out with the weaker ones'_

Deciding it was time to go on the offense, Trey teleported behind Sydney, slamming his blade into the Guardian's armor at such a speed that it sent him flying off his feet and into an ATM. He paused, not taking this opportunity to end his opponent as he so easily could, but instead wanting to see what his foe would do next.

"You're power is impressive, but neglect your own defenses and you will be dead in no time," Trey instructed, not sure of why he was teaching his opponent.

"Don't lecture me," he said, getting back to his feet. "I don't need sympathy from my enemy."

"So you would rather me have killed you with that last attack?" Trey asked, "If you can't hope to stop even a simple attack, you don't stand a chance here."

"Maybe," Sydney said, his breaths hastening as his grip on the blade tightening, "But I saw how you just killed those soldiers. I can't just let someone like you go on to murder anyone else."

"They choose this path. Anyone who puts on the uniform of the armed services gives up their right to life. It is the way war works."

"You truly are a monster," Sydney said, "That's why I have to stop you."

"Try it then," Trey said, holding out his blade, daring the Guardian to try to fight him.

Without another word, Sydney ran along the street jumping into the air and bringing his blade down with as much force as he could muster as Trey stood there, easily matching his foe's strength. Sydney didn't give up, slashing and thrusting at the dimensional who used just enough of his speed to parry each attack. "Noah, I won't fail anyone else," Sydney said softly, evidently driving himself to fight harder. "I can't lose."

'_So, this one fights for someone close to him as well, someone he lost perhaps?'_

"Who is this Noah?" Trey asked, their swords clashing once more.

"Someone I was too late to save," Sydney replied, slamming his sword into the street, causing a sphere of light to erupt from the ground.

Trey back flipped through the air, landing far enough away for the light to dissipate before reaching him. However, Sydney quickly closed the distance between them, their swords locking in midair again.

Trey admired his foe's courage against an opponent whose power he hadn't even fully seen yet. Even so, he had a battle to win, as much as he regretted it. Blocking an attack aimed at slicing his head off, Trey went on the offensive, slashing across his opponent, severing the armor at the molecular level, allowing him to slash across the Guardian's chest unhindered. After his blood erupted from the wound, Sydney continued fighting, but to no avail. Trey blocked his attack, before sending him flying through the air with a kick that had enough speed to send him flying through several buildings. He guessed Sydney would survive the attack, especially with the power of the light, but he certainly wouldn't be fighting any time soon.

Satisfied with his work, Trey continued through the city, to see how his other companions were faring.

…

Spenser stared at the corpse of his younger brother, glad to finally put that pest in his place. If it weren't for his sloppiness, the council would have never found out about his plans and exiled him. He had been waiting many years for the opportunity to finally get revenge.

"Turn and face me," Chris called out, causing Spenser to turn to see the swordsman.

"And just who do you think you are?" the Nightwing said, shocked that someone would dare address him with such impudence.

"I am Chris, a Guardian of Truth, and the one who will end your life. I thought I'd at least give you the chance to defend yourself before I kill you."

"Quite arrogant aren't you. Between my magic and with the sky as my domain, you don't stand a chance."

"Psh, you may be able to fly, but I can still kick your ass."

Spenser leapt into the air, getting a safe distance away to channel a spell before gathering his power. "Roar oh dragon of crimson flames. Come and devour my-"

Spenser fell to the ground, feeling a searing sensation in his side. Looking down, he saw his blood coating the sidewalks in a scarlet river. He looked behind him, seeing the Guardian, his sword already returned to its sheaf.

"A little piece of advice, it doesn't matter how powerful your spells might be if you don't have time to cast them. I guess it's a little late for that though." Chris began walking away, ignoring the threats coming from the soon to be dead Nightwing. If that was the best they could do, then the Guardians had nothing to fear from the Nightwings.

…

The elemental siblings lay helplessly on the ground, their enemies standing over them in victory. David held out his hand, gathering a fireball in it, deciding to make sure they didn't survive another battle. However, just as he was about to release it, a pillar of light descended from the sky, blasting David and Ryo back and encasing the siblings in a blinding light.

"That should protect them," a calm feminine voice called out from one of the remaining rooftops.

"And just who the hell do you think you are?" David spat as he gazed upon the woman with flowing blond hair and encased in snow-white armor. She held a golden staff, decorated with white runes that glowed in response to the light.

"I am Ellie, also known as the Maiden of Light. I'd hate to see you get hurt by getting in over your head, so you might want to run." Her voice carried a sincere concern to it, though her small smirk conveyed a powerful threat.

"You really think I'd lose to someone like you? Apparently you don't know who you're messing with!"

"I guess I should be the one to handle you then," another voice called out as its owner walked down the street, though in a sharp contrast to Ellie, he was clothed in normal street clothes and had short brown hair. He held out his hand toward David and Ryo, several blue sparks jumping between the two fingers. "Though I think Ellie has some other matters to attend to, and a two verses one fight seems a little unfair to me."

Before the two elementals could respond, the stranger sent a stream of blue lightning out of his hand, striking Ryo with it, sending him flying through a building and rendering him unconscious.

"Who are you?" David yelled, actually afraid of this new foe.

"My name is James, the Dragon of Light. Like Ellie, I am a Guardian of Truth. Now, let's have a little fun here," he said with an eager grin as he cracked his knuckles.

David took a step back, realizing he wouldn't have the advantage in this battle. The fact that this stranger just defeated Ryo with such ease worried him, but Ryo never was that powerful. Since David had both control over fire and earth, along with some dimensional powers, he didn't think he would lose.

The elemental jumped at his foe, sending massive streams of fire at him, though James was quick to leap into the air and return fire with a blue blaze. Flames of red and blue clashed, neither one able to overpower the other as the blaze spread out, setting fire to various buildings. David saw he wouldn't be able to match his foe from afar, so he ran at James, figuring his speed would give him the advantage. He sent several flaming punches and kicks at the Guardian, however James also proved he was skilled at hand to hand combat deflecting David's attacks while remaining unharmed.

David saw his opportunity though, and used the orb of earth to shoot out a small piece of stone which grabbed onto James' ankles, rendering him immobile. With his foe unable to defend against his attacks, David used all his speed to deliver a powerful flaming kick into James' chest sending him flying into a building followed by countless fireballs.

"A bunch of talk but nothing to back it up with," David said turning to Ellie who was on the ground, healing the elemental siblings with her light.

"James," she said shaking her head. "Would you take this serious for once?"

"Fine, I just wanted to see how strong his attacks really were," James said, emerging from the rubble completely unharmed.

"It can't be…" David said.

"Shall I show you my true power?" James asked, a confident grin across his face as blue fire and lightning raced across his arms.

"Few Guardians can match James in raw power," Ellie explained. "He also has a nasty habit of playing with his enemies before finally finishing them. You should start running."

David shot several streams of fire at James, but they merely bounced off the Guardian as he slowly walked to his foe. "It's been nice knowing you," James said with a smirk as he jumped into the air, sprouting blue wings made of fire before flying at David. The fire elemental tried using his own speed to counter though it was futile as James was able to match his speed. David tried aiming another flaming kick at James, but he grabbed his ankle out of the air, dissipating the red fire before tossing him at least 20 feet into the air. With his wings growing larger and brighter, James rocketed after the elemental delivering an electricity charged punch, knocking the wind out of him before sending him soaring back to the ground with a flaming kick to the back. To ensure his foe wouldn't come back again, James proceeded to fire countless blasts of fire and lightning at the crater David had made when he landed. After about a minute of constant fire in which he destroyed at least half a city block, he landed, content that he had won due to the fact that not a trace of his opponent remained.

"Happy now Ellie?" he asked powering down while walking over to her.

"Yeah, though you didn't need to destroy so much of the city."

"Come on, you know that's my favorite part," he said with a proud grin. "After all, what guy doesn't like big explosions?"

"Fine, fine, mister macho, now help me carry them so we can get them to a hospital to finish recovering. I was able to heal most of their injuries, but they'll still need some rest."

"All right, lead the way," he said picking up the two and slinging them over his shoulders while Ellie guided them to the hospital.

…

"How do we get out of here?" Zack shouted, though in the pitch black, they couldn't see any escape.

"Just run," Cody said getting back to his feet though ignoring the stabbing pain in his shoulder. They couldn't fight back in this darkness, so they needed to do the only thing they could do and that was to get out of it. He picked Bailey up again and started running alongside Zack, but they were both stricken by another unseen blade knocking them back and giving them fresh wounds.

"Why don't you come and fight me you coward, instead of just hiding behind your darkness?" Zack yelled.

"A pathetic attempt at trying to provoke me young one," the dark elemental said, "You might think my way of fighting is cowardly, but all that matters is who wins."

Cody smiled to himself as he saw his foe making a dire mistake. He gathered his power in his hand, firing a time blast in the direction of the voice, glad he at least responded to Zack's accusation. They heard a scream of pain and the darkness faded, revealing the dark elemental lying on the ground. "You little pests. It will take more than that to defeat the great Sharale." He rose from the ground, his dark cloak flowing with the breeze as he tightened the grip on his blade.

"We're not afraid," Zack gripping his blade as well and charging at Sharale. The two met, as the elemental blocked Zack's furious assault before vanishing into the shadows of a building. Zack turned around trying to find his foe, however Sharale emerged from the wall far above Zack before silently descending upon him. However, Sharale had overlooked the fact that Zack wasn't alone. Before he could strike the older twin, Cody leapt into the air, shoving the dark elemental into a wall with a massive kick before pushing off him and taking the handgun out of his pocket, firing two shots into the elemental before deftly landing on his feet.

"Me, wounded?" Sharale said placing his hand to his shoulder where the blood was seeping out from the wound. Seeing that he was outmatched, the dark elemental knew he had to retreat. "Don't think I'll forget this," he said as he faded into the shadows.

"Think he'll strike again?" Zack asked.

"It wouldn't surprise me," Cody said as he went over to pick Bailey up again. He checked her pulse, thankful that she was still alive but knew it wouldn't last long.

"I think the hospital is only a couple blocks away," Zack said.

Cody took several deep breaths, and harnessed what was left of his powers allowing him to wind through the streets at unmatchable speeds allowing him to finally reach the hospital. Time went by in a blur as they found themselves put on hospital beds as various doctors and nurses examined their wounds. They carried Bailey away, seeing that she was in the most serious need of care and the twins were placed in a hospital room and given pain meds after their wounds were bandaged. With all the wounded soldiers from the town and being flown in via helicopter from the battle raging several miles away, there were more serious injuries to tend to.

Finally, after their nightmarish battles, the twins found an opportunity to rest, to let their guard down. The hospital staff along with the military doctors rushed through the buildings, treating the wounded that were lucky enough to make it to the safe haven.

"We made it this far buddy," Zack said to his twin as they rested hearing the chaos in the hallways that seemed a lifetime of fear and pain away.

"Yeah," Cody said as he gazed out the hospital windows. "I just hope the rest of them are okay." Constant flashes and rumblings echoed through the city, reminding the twins that the battle was far from over.

As the pain medicine took effect, the twins found themselves soothed by the chaotic sounds all around them. It seemed strange, but they couldn't resist the allure of sleep and soon found themselves dead to the world and the war around them.

…

A/N: Whew, that was a fun chapter, at least to write. The Guardians, first seen at the end of chapter 12 have returned just in time to turn the tide of the battle. If you want to learn more about the Guardians, I recommend you check out my fic Unclouded by Hate which is a parallel fic to this that tells the story of Sydney becoming a Guardian and eventually the war against the Nightwings and Hakalahs. I put it in the crossover section because it borrows slightly from different fandoms, though most of it is my original work and those unfamiliar with my sources shouldn't be confused by those parts.

Stay tuned for the epilogue, Red Horizons and check my profile frequently for information about the sequel to this.


	20. Chapter 20: Red Horizons

'_What I breathe used to be my life__  
__How come a good thing dies__  
__And the evil still survive…'_

**Epilogue: Red Horizons**

Cody tossed and turned in his hospital bed, constantly wrapping and unwrapping himself in the sheets. His eyes blinked open, trying to make sense of his strange surroundings. The ceiling was a constant layer of white instead of the grayish ceiling tiles aboard the ship and the window overlooked a city, not the ocean he was used to. He felt a strange cord around his arm and looked to the IV that he was hooked up to.

Then it hit him…

He was in the hospital after the battle.

The younger twin looked across the room and saw his brother sleeping soundly and snoring loudly. That had to mean he was doing fine. He looked down at his own body, feeling over where he was attacked by Sharale. He gently touched where the hole was in his stomach, only to discover there wasn't any pain. Looking within his hospital gown, he saw there wasn't even a mark from the attack. He looked on his chest where Sharale had slashed him to discover that was completely mended as well.

"How are you feeling?" a calm feminine voice asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Fine I guess," he said, shocked that he wasn't in any pain even after everything they had been through. Even if the doctors had been able to heal them, he guessed there would still be some residual effects.

"That's good, you and your brother looked pretty bad, but it looks like you're both back to normal."

"You don't work for the hospital do you?" Cody noted, seeing that she wasn't dressed like the hospital staff, but instead looked like she was one of those readers that hung out at the coffee shops, with long golden hair. He also noticed she seemed to carry about her an aura of peace that calmed him.

"No, but I decided to do what I could to heal the people that were hurt in the battle."

"What happened?" Cody asked. A thousand questions raced through his mind, was Altinia about to beat Hakalahs? Was anyone else hurt? Did any of his friends die?

"We'll worry about that later," she said walking over to him, "See if you can stand up."

"Okay," he said swinging his legs over the side of his bed as she helped him to his feet. It took him a second to steady himself, but she let go of his hand and he was fine. "Wow, I feel great," Cody said, his body telling him he could go run a marathon in record time.

"Good, now let's get these needles out of you," she said pulling the IVs out allowing Cody to fully move his arm. A faint white glow emanated from her hand as she waved it over the spot where the needle was, stopping any blood from flowing out.

"How?" he asked, seeing that her healing power was far beyond even his own. "Who are you?"

"My name is Ellie, we'll explain everything else to you later," she said as she started walking out into the hall, Cody ran after her, his curiosity demanding answers.

"Ellie!" another voice called out once Cody was in the hall. He turned to see a teen rushing toward him, but before he knew what had happened, the person crashed into them and the two of them were sprawled out on the ground.

"Wow Max, so my sister was right about you after all," a new feminine voice said, obviously taking note of how close their faces were together. Cody thought he heard a small laugh from her too.

"Sarah, that's not what it's like at all," Max said as he scrambled back to his feet.

"Sure, whatever you say," she said while stifling a laugh.

"What did you need to tell me?" Ellie asked, not in the mood to break up one of their arguments.

"Oh, we still haven't heard anything from Kensei," Max announced, a degree of worry in his voice.

"Yeah, he should have been able to figure out where we were by now, and would have come back here after they retreated. I mean, even Chris is here," Sarah said.

"Well once Nick and James get back from exploring the city, we'll have a better idea of what happened and they'll probably bring Kensei back with them," Ellie said.

Cody tried taking in all this information that was flying over his head. It looked as if these people had come to help in the battle, but none of them looked like warriors. He already figured out Ellie had healing powers, so that could have been her role, but what about the other two? Max and Sarah looked about his age, maybe a year or two older, and didn't look like they would be the type that could stop Hakalahs' army. Then again, Cody was able to harness incredible power to fight those monsters so maybe these people were ancients too.

"Can someone tell me what happened?" he finally asked.

"We'll explain everything once the other ancients are awake," Ellie explained calmly. "Just go back to your room and get some rest."

The younger twin begrudgingly listened, but was curious how Zack was doing, and even though his body felt fine, he wondered if that would last long.

Staring out the window of the hotel room, he saw smoke still rising into the blue skies. The grey didn't completely cover the sky, but it still echoed the battle that occurred not long ago. He wondered if the English army had been successful in fending off the monsters, though judging by the fact the city seemed free from the foul fiends it seemed they had won, though he wondered at what cost.

He made it through the battle relatively unharmed, and it didn't look like Zack was in any pain either. They were able to get Bailey to the hospital in time, or at least he thought, so she would be okay. He wondered about Altinia too, she had allowed Zack to escape, and was certainly powerful, but so was Hakalahs. There were so many he still had no idea about. He wondered about Aaron, Heather, Adian, Peter, and even Moseby. The optimistic part of him told him that the rest of them were just resting in various other parts of the hospital or city. They were all powerful warriors, and that wasn't the first time they had battled those monsters. Even so, the realistic side told him that with so many powerful enemies in the city, there was a good chance not all of them made it. This was war after all.

Looking at the clock he saw it was eight in the morning and from Zack's still snoring body, he decided he could use some more rest to let his body heal. He'd get his answers soon enough and in the mean time; it wouldn't do any good worrying. So he let his body succumb to sleep.

…

Zack opened his eyes, trying to figure out where he was. It was as if he was walking along the streets of an abandoned city, the creaking of old un-oiled doors echoed against the silence. He looked up, seeing fallen skyscrapers littering the skyline. A number of dark clouds floated above, though blue sky still shined through. Something was off though; two blood red clouds hovered overhead surrounded by blue. What had happened here?

"Zack," a voice called and he saw his brother walking over to him.

"Where are we?" the elder twin asked.

"You remember the battle?"

Zack tried delving into the crevices of his memory, images of the battle crawling their way to the surface. They had fought Hakalahs together and then that strange dark elemental. Was this the city where they had battled? He didn't have time to memorize all the details, but this place felt different.

Cody noticed the look of confusion on his brother's face. "No, this isn't the same place," he answered, not exactly sure of how he knew that either. "This is the realm of our minds."

Zack tilted his head in response, bewildered by the statement, waiting for Cody's explanation.

"I don't know either Zack," the younger twin said taking a seat on a stoop in front of a large building that looked to be in good condition compared to the others. "We're dreaming, but somehow in the same dream, and this city, or whatever it is, is a reflection of us."

"I'll just assume that makes sense," Zack said taking a seat beside his brother.

"Zack, Cody, there you are," Heather said as she ran toward the two with her brother trying to keep up.

"Wait, so are you real too, or just part of our mind?" Zack asked.

"You told us to come here and now you don't know if we're real or not?" she asked, scratching her head.

"I'm guessing things won't start making sense anytime soon," the older twin said, admitting defeat to the illogical logic of this world.

"Well we're all in the same dream," Cody explained.

"I remember that happening last summer with you, but how are they here too?"

"We told them to come," he answered, the knowledge being instinctive to him, yet not sure how it could happen.

In their confusion of what had happened, they didn't also notice Bailey and Peter walking up to them. "So everyone else is here too?" Bailey asked.

"Does that mean you're okay?" Cody said, popping up instantly at the sound of her voice.

"Yeah, I was able to make sure she was okay after you took her to the hospital," Peter said a deep pain conveyed through his voice.

"Thanks so much for protecting me," Bailey said running over to the younger twin and giving him a hug.

"Anytime," he replied, glad that they were able to heal her in time.

"So let me guess, we told you to come here too?" Zack asked.

"Yeah," Peter answered.

"So what's next, a killer penguin is going to burst out that door with a Brazilian Katana?"

Cody looked at his brother with a look of pure terror. "Don't even joke about something like that."

"Oh, sorry I forgot about your fear of penguins," he said with a role of his eyes.

"They're birds but don't fly, that's weird right?"

Zack just nodded and decided to get back on topic before something stranger really did happen here. "What happened to you guys?" he asked the elemental siblings.

"Well Ryo attacked us, but he wasn't much of a challenge for both of us, however David showed up again," Aaron answered, "Together they were able to overpower us. David was about to deliver the final blow, but I don't really know what happened after that."

"I remember seeing a bright light around us and I saw someone battling David and Ryo, though I don't know any details," Heather said.

"What about you Peter?" Cody asked, "Or do you know everything about Adian."

"Adian's dead," Peter snapped, glaring at Cody in hatred.

"What happened?" the younger twin asked while all the others stared at him in shock.

"We ran into Trey," he started his story, though didn't get far with Zack jumping in at the first pause.

"I'll kill that bastard for that!" the older twin screamed, slamming his fist into his palm.

"Trey wasn't the one who did it," Peter said shaking his head at the sick irony of the situation. "Trey was content with just keeping us out of the fight so he did something to block our powers. One of the solders tried shooting Trey, but he must have dodged the bullet, so instead he shot Adian. The shot struck him directly in the forehead; he was dead before he hit the ground." Once Peter stopped talking, a heavy silence filled the air. No one knew what to say to something like that. Zack glanced at his brother, thinking about the same pain he was in when Cody was killed. That was the most grueling experience of his life; he wasn't sure what he would have done if it weren't for Trey giving him a chance to save Cody.

"That's terrible," Heather said tears flowing down her cheeks. She just lost one of her best friends. Ever since they met Adian, he had always been there for her. When she learned that he would be going on the adventure with her, she was ecstatic. They didn't know where the road would lead them, but just knew it would be the adventure of a lifetime. Never for a second did they imagine that one of them wouldn't make it back home. What's worse was that it wasn't an enemy who did that, but a fluke of war. A fluke that cost Adian his life, but still just a simple mistake made with good intensions.

Aaron placed a comforting hand on his sister's shoulder. He wasn't nearly as close to Adian as his sister, but they were still friends. He wished for the words to comfort his sister and his new friends here, but they eluded him. What could he say to something like this? He thought back to his Aunt Georgia's death. While they weren't close at all, he remembered the somber feeling in the funeral home. The family looked back on their fun times with her, through many years of life. This wasn't the case with Adian; he was just a kid, only fifteen years old and still had his whole life ahead of him. This wasn't right. It was one thing for someone to die of natural causes when they had lived a long full life, but another for a kid to become a victim of war. He did nothing to deserve it, but that was why war was horrible, it didn't care who was its next victim.

"We have to stop this war from taking anyone else," Cody said, a mix of resolve and hurt in his voice. He didn't like all the fighting he had to do; he never did. There were so many people who just became victims of a maniac's cruel plans. He'd keep fighting though, for those who didn't have the power to defend themselves, until they could live in peace.

The others nodded half heartedly, still filled with grief over the terrible news. However, before they could respond the dream world began fading and each of the ancients found themselves waking up in different beds across the hospital.

…

Several hours later, the heroes found themselves in one of the large meeting rooms in the hospital. Altinia and Ellie had gathered them all, needing to decide on the next course of action. General Fair had also joined them, to report on the battle that occurred outside the city. The ancients sat on one side of the room, the Guardians in the middle and the general and several military personnel on the left.

"Where's Moseby?" Zack asked, searching for the ship manager who was nowhere to be found. After everything they had been though with him, he was sure he'd be here to attend, or at least to scold him for hitting on the hot nurses.

Cody shrugged his shoulders, noting the same concern as General Fair stepped to the front of the room. "Thank you for coming here and for all your assistance with these battles," he said formally, "I personally led our force that engaged most of the monsters outside the city to keep the destruction to a minimum. We were able to beat them, and while they were strong, our losses were not as bad as they could have been due to our advanced technology eliminating many of them before they could reach us and their lack of ranged attacks made them easy targets. We were also surprised to find their minimalist air attack. They had several dragons with their army, but none our air force couldn't easily dispatch. However, while this battle went well, I fear this is only the beginning." The general returned to the seat, a gentle relief coming over the group that things went so well, at least on that part of the battle.

Next, James walked to the front of the room to discuss the likely next phase of the war. "Please allow me to introduce myself. I am James of the Guardians of Truth. We are protectors of the various dimensions, marinating balance and ensuring peace between them."

"Um," a nervous Guardian said, "Shouldn't Kensei be the one doing this?"

James sighed heavily, not wanting to be the one to break the news to the others, but knew he had no other choice. "Kensei died in the battle. We found his body when we were surveying the city."

A heavy silence fell upon the Guardians, obviously shocked by such a revelation. However, James continued knowing now was not the time to grieve. "I'm sure many of you believe that Hakalahs is the mastermind behind this attack on London, however I am here to inform you that is not the case. He is dangerous indeed and should not be underestimated, but we would be foolish to think that is the only thing we need to worry about. An even bigger threat is that of the Nightwings."

"Wait, like Moseby?" Zack asked. He didn't see why people like Moseby would be something to fear. He might have been a pain sometimes, but he wasn't evil. And even if he was, the manager wasn't overly powerful, especially comparable to some of the other people they had battled.

"Ah, the Nightwing who went against his own kind during this battle and perished," James replied. The twins' eyes widened suddenly, not believing what they were hearing, but before they had time to fully process the information, James continued, "Sadly he is an exception to the rule. The Nightwings are a powerful race, one that once tried conquering earth many centuries ago. This was the first stage of their plan; use Hakalahs' power to launch a powerful attack to open the gate between the worlds allowing more Nightwings to enter this world. One Nightwing, like your friend wouldn't be much of a threat, in fact most of them aren't much more powerful than him. However, they have a massive army possibly a billion in strength."

"And we're supposed to defeat that how?" Zack asked.

"Relax, they aren't all here yet, and we can still stop them," James said, holding up a hand indicating for Zack to calm down. "While the Nightwings can now come to Earth freely, there is a limit to how many can come through the portal and how often it can be used. For now, it seems only a few thousand have made it through."

"So is there a way to keep it that way?" Cody asked.

"Yes, but it won't be easy. In order for the portal to work, it must be activated on both sides and must be powered from one of them. The main purpose of Hakalahs' attack was to activate the portal on this end allowing the Nightwings to start coming, in which they succeeded, and unfortunately it is impossible to deactivate anytime soon.

"That means we'd need to somehow stop the power to the portal," Heather said.

"Would it be best to just combine our power and launch an attack on that, instead of just fighting the infinite army that will be pouring in?" Aaron suggested.

"Part of the agreement at the end of the war against the Nightwings is that we could not invade their world. To ensure that we kept our word, he helped them develop a magic that would stop any Guardian from entering, and if they somehow made it, it would render them powerless."

"Why do I get the feeling you're looking at us?" Zack said.

"We can use their own portal magic to send a small group into their realm, and they'd need to be able to destroy the power supply, not an easy task as I'm sure it is heavily guarded. Are you up to the challenge?" James asked, sensing that it would provoke his competitive nature.

"Infiltrating another world and destroying a magical power supply, sounds like fun."

"What about the rest of you?" James asked.

"Well fighting off an army of a billion doesn't sound like fun, so I'm in," Aaron said.

"Knowing Zack, he'd probably end up destroying the wrong thing so I better go to help," Cody said.

"Don't leave me out of the fun," Heather said up for going to this new world, if anything to forget the loss she had experience here.

"Me too," Bailey added with resolve.

"You sure, it could be dangerous," Cody said.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"While I wish you luck, it's time we part ways," Peter said, a heavy anxiety in his voice. "I can't do this anymore, not without Adian." He closed his eyes as he said this and balled his hands into fists.

"That's okay, you could just stay here," Cody suggested.

"You don't get it, do you, I'm through with this," Peter yelled as he stormed out the room. The twins ran after him, but before they could reach him, he was gone, the familiar feeling of space contorting filling the air. He was gone.

"Should we go after him?" Cody asked, not knowing where he could have gone or even where to start looking.

Zack placed his hand on his brother's shoulder and shook his head. "There's nothing we can say to change his mind and we don't want to force him to do something he doesn't want to. Now we can only let him grieve."

"I guess you're right," Cody said to his older brother.

The twins returned to the room and listened half-heartedly to the rest of the meeting. They didn't really care for the details of how everything would work, being preoccupied with losing both Adian and Moseby. They knew that along with Aaron, Heather and Bailey they would go into the Nightwing's world and destroy the portal's power supply, and then escape back to Earth before the portal collapsed. It would be risky, but was the best chance they had to stop the Nightwings.

…

The rest of the day was spent resting and recovering for the journey that awaited the young heroes. After two major battles in the past week, they knew they were pushing themselves too hard, but they didn't have much of a choice. The longer it took to shut down the portal, the harder it would be to stop the Nightwings.

The next morning, the five teens stood at front of the hotel where Ellie had already prepared the spell that would take them to the new world. Not knowing how long it would take them to find and destroy the portal, they also brought with them various supplies such as canned food, water, and camping supplies. Altinia had been able to give them a general idea of what things would be safe to eat and what things were poisonous, but none of them thought Saproling sounded appetizing. However, when they asked why she wasn't coming with them, she briefly said something about not having her powers on before quickly changing the subject so they couldn't ask more.

"Are you ready?" Ellie asked, knowing that none of them could really be ready for what was to come.

"Let's do this," Zack said enthusiastically. This was going to be dangerous, but so was everything else they had been through so far.

The other heroes nodded as Ellie tapped her staff against the ground. "Light of the shadows, guide these brave souls into the realm of night."

A strange light surrounded the five, causing Bailey to take a small step closer to Cody. Soon they felt as if they were flying through the air and sliding down a water slide at the same time, yet they all knew they weren't moving, or at least not in the way they normally would think of moving. After a few moments of traveling like this, the white around them began fading and they saw the world open up around them. They were standing in the middle of a brownish field that appeared to be a clearing surrounded by unusual crops. The sky above them carried a tint of orange-ish red instead of the normal blue from earth. The sun shone through, giving light to the world, though this clearly wasn't like their home.

With the strange sights, Cody was the first to speak, "I have a feeling we aren't on Earth anymore." He took a brave step forward, the first step of a new adventure.

'_That's all they ever said__  
__Grey tones can't be trusted__  
__I say paint it red'_

_Red, Elton John_

…

**A/N:** Now for a very calm author note…

I FINISHED! YIPPEE! I ACTUALLY MANAGED TO WRITE TWO WHOLE STORIES OF THIS SERIES! Yay!

Right after that random outburst…

And with just about an hour to spare, I finish what has been my favorite story yet, and at least in my opinion, the best. A lot has not gone how I originally planned; just take a look at the trailer at the beginning of this story and you'll see the many ways in which this story has changed. I've learned so much more about the various characters as I wrote more about them, and even some characters you haven't seen yet.

Thank you to all the people who have stuck with this and have helped to inspire new ideas. I want to thank Elianna, Woundedhearts, WaldoJeffers and ReneySprouse for sticking with this from the beginning of the fic, and to those who have picked it up along the way Hailfax-McGee, Man of Faith and Owlhero. However, a big thanks goes out to Wyntirsno, for sticking with me back from the beginning of Separated, and also betaing the past few chapters of this (in record time when needed) and helping me figure out some plot points later on.

As you saw from the ending here, this series is not over, and the first chapter is already written for the sequel. Stay tuned…


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